The pattern of volatile organic compounds released by the skin at a tumor site differs from that found near healthy skin, according to Michelle Gallagher, Ph.D., of the Monell Chemical Senses Center here, and colleagues.
The difference can be detected using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques, Dr. Gallagher, now at the Philadelphia chemical firm Rohm and Haas, said at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
But in the long run, it may be possible to build small hand-held devices that could detect the altered pattern of volatile compounds, Dr. Gallagher said in a statement.
"This research opens doors to potential new approaches to skin cancer diagnosis based on the profile of skin odors, hopefully leading to more rapid and non-invasive detection and diagnosis of this prevalent disease," she said.
The finding comes from a study of 11 people with basal cell carcinoma and 11 healthy controls. It builds on research reported in July in the British Journal of Dermatology, in which Dr. Gallagher and colleagues showed that nearly 100 volatile compounds are released by the skin.
They include lactic acid, phenol, hexanoic acid and a host of others, Dr. Gallagher and colleagues reported in July.
In her presentation here, Dr. Gallagher said that the skin of tumors did not differ from healthy skin in the compounds that were present. Rather, she said, some compounds were markedly increased and others reduced in cancer patients, compared with the healthy controls.
She did not want to be more specific about which chemicals are increased and which decreased, and said that she and her colleagues have applied for a patent on their technique.
Dr. Gallagher said that she and her colleagues are now working on the odor characteristics of squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
She said she envisions a nano-sensor that could be moved across the skin, giving clinicians an alarm if the pattern of volatile compounds matched a cancerous signature.
"Researchers have speculated that tumors give off different odors, but we're the first to identify and quantify the compounds involved in skin cancer odors," Dr. Gallagher said.
|The research was supported by the NIH and Ms. Bonnie Hunt.
- Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston
American Chemical Society Annual MeetingSource Reference: Gallagher M et al. "Detecting skin cancer using volatile biomarkers" ACS 2008; abstract AGFD 227.
British Journal of DermatologySource Reference: Gallagher M et al. "Analyses of volatile organic compounds from human skin" Brit J Derm 2008; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08748.x.