ArticlePloS one2014
Detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) by urinary volatile organic compound analysis.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT04217083 (Volatile Organic Compounds), which is not on this map. Cited by 64 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Could Discriminate Patients With Colorectal Cancer From Healthy Controls.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 166 citations in OpenAlex.
- Urinary and cellular volatile organic compounds as biomarkers for urological cancers: a systematic review of GC-MS-based volatolomics.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Diagnostic performance of volatile organic compounds analysis and electronic noses for detecting colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Pooled it
- The Influence of Mechanical Bowel Preparation on Volatile Organic Compounds for the Detection of Gastrointestinal Disease-A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Pooled it
- Volatile organic compounds as a potential screening tool for neoplasm of the digestive system: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Medical diagnosis at the point-of-care by portable high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of breath research · 2021Pooled it
- Utility of volatile organic compounds as a diagnostic tool in preterm infants.Pediatric research · 2021Pooled it
- Volatile organic compounds analysis as a potential novel screening tool for colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Discriminant Profiles of Volatile Compounds in the Alveolar Air of Patients with Squamous Cell Lung Cancer, Lung Adenocarcinoma or Colon Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Trial
- Urinary Volatilomic Profiling Reveals Candidate Metabolomic Signatures Associated with Colorectal Cancer.Biology · 2026Article
- Identification of a panel of volatile organic compounds in urine for early detection of for bladder cancer.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Development and Optimisation of a Urinary Volatile Organic Compound Analytical Platform Using Gas Sensor Arrays for the Detection of Colorectal Cancer.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Potential Benefit of a Novel Urine Biosensor Platform for Lung Cancer Detection in the Decision-Making Process: From the Bench to the Bedside.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- The human volatilome meets cancer diagnostics: past, present, and future of noninvasive applications.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2024Review
- Unveiling Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers: Harnessing Biosensor Technology for Volatile Organic Compound Detection.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Sample Collection and Processing in Volatile Organic Compound Analysis for Gastrointestinal Cancers.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Pancreatic Cancer and Detection Methods.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Exhaled volatile organic compounds for diagnosis and monitoring of asthma.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- Volatile Organic Compound Assessment as a Screening Tool for Early Detection of Gastrointestinal Diseases.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- The Versatility and Diagnostic Potential of VOC Profiling for Noninfectious Diseases.BME frontiers · 2023Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedCorrection: Detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) by urinary volatile organic compound analysis.2015 · Hodges, Paula [corrected to Hodges, Phoebe]
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer related death in Europe and the USA. There is no universally accepted effective non-invasive screening test for CRC. Guaiac based faecal occult blood (gFOB) testing has largely been superseded by Faecal Immunochemical testing (FIT), but sensitivity still remains poor. The uptake of population based FOBt testing in the UK is also low at around 50%. The detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) signature(s) for many cancer subtypes is receiving increasing interest using a variety of gas phase analytical instruments. One such example is FAIMS (Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometer). FAIMS is able to identify Inflammatory Bowel disease (IBD) patients by analysing shifts in VOCs patterns in both urine and faeces. This study extends this concept to determine whether CRC patients can be identified through non-invasive analysis of urine, using FAIMS. 133 patients were recruited; 83 CRC patients and 50 healthy controls. Urine was collected at the time of CRC diagnosis and headspace analysis undertaken using a FAIMS instrument (Owlstone, Lonestar, UK). Data was processed using Fisher Discriminant Analysis (FDA) after feature extraction from the raw data. FAIMS analyses demonstrated that the VOC profiles of CRC patients were tightly clustered and could be distinguished from healthy controls. Sensitivity and specificity for CRC detection with FAIMS were 88% and 60% respectively. This study suggests that VOC signatures emanating from urine can be detected in patients with CRC using ion mobility spectroscopy technology (FAIMS) with potential as a novel screening tool.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.