The current letter describes the rational behind breath analysis of lung cancer and the progress made so far by means of mass spectrometry and smart sensor arrays. Additionally, it presents and discusses the potential of breath analysis in enabling inexpensive and non-invasive technology that would allow efficient early detection of cancer; stratifying the population based on their bio-specification for a tailored (personalized) therapy; and bed-side fast assessment of treatment efficacy in order to change the therapeutic approach. At the end, the letter pinpoints the main implementation strengths of the method as a routine diagnostic and monitoring in the digital era.
Keywords: Lung cancer; biomarker; breath; sensor; volatile organic compound.