Authors:
Michelle Gallagher, George Preti, Steve Fakharzadeh, Charles J. Wysocki, Jae Kwak, Christopher J. Miller, Chrysalyne D. Schmults, Andrew I Spielman, and Xuming Sun
Summary:
Dogs can detect the presence of skin cancer via olfaction, supporting the hypothesis that skin tumors produce a different profile of volatile metabolites than normal skin. We used solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to investigate the profile of volatiles from individuals with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) tumor sites, as well as similar sites from the control subjects. Inspection of GC/MS data demonstrated no obvious qualitative changes between BCC sites and control sites. Several compounds chosen because of their structure, origin and/or biogenesis were monitored in a quantitative fashion in all patients and controls. Statistical analyses of the quantitative data suggest that rather than “new” volatile organic compounds (VOCs) related to the carcinoma, we see a quantitative alteration of the normal VOC profile at the BCC site: some of the monitored compounds decrease, and others increase in relative concentration.
Source:
The 236th American Chemical Society National Meeting; Philadelphia, PA, 113C, Oral, 1:30 PM-5:20 PM (08/20/08)