Breath biopsy for early detection and precision medicine in cancer

Ecancermedicalscience. 2018 Jul 19:12:ed84. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2018.ed84. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Breath biopsy enables the non-invasive collection and analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, providing valuable information about disease processes occurring in the body. Metabolic changes occur in cancer cells at the earliest stages of disease. We discuss progress in the use of breath biopsy for discovery of breath-based biomarkers for early detection of cancer, and potential applications for breath biopsy in enabling precision medicine in cancer.

Keywords: Warburg effect; biomarkers; breath; breathomics; colorectal cancer; early detection; lung cancer; metabolism; metabolomics; oncogenesis; personalised medicine; precision medicine.

Publication types

  • Editorial