ArticleAlimentary pharmacology & therapeutics2020
Volatile organic compounds in breath can serve as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for the detection of advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer.
Article in Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 66 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Detection of Colorectal Cancer From Exhaled Air. Part II: Validation
Hybrid-sensor Breath Analysis for Colorectal Cancer Screening (HYCOR)
A Prospective, Non-interventional, Observational Clinical Validation Study to Analytically Validate the A&M Breathalyzer PROTECT Kiosk Breath Capture System.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- eNose technologies in the detection of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The oncologist · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Exploring Components, Sensors, and Techniques for Cancer Detection via eNose Technology: A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Pooled 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
- Diagnostic Performance of Electronic Noses in Cancer Diagnoses Using Exhaled Breath: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review: non-endoscopic surveillance for colorectal neoplasia in individuals with Lynch syndrome.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2022Pooled it
- The potential of volatile organic compounds-based breath analysis for COVID-19 screening: a systematic review & meta-analysis.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease · 2022Pooled it
- Volatile organic compounds as a potential screening tool for neoplasm of the digestive system: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Breath analysis for the detection of digestive tract malignancies: systematic review.BJS open · 2021Pooled it
- Exhaled breath analysis with the use of an electronic nose to predict response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic melanoma: melaNose trial.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Trial
- Volatilomic Signatures of Parental and Oxaliplatin-Resistant HCT116 Colon Cancer Cell Lines.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Exploratory Volatilome Profiling of Inflammation in Skin Fibroblasts: A Proof-of-Concept Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Emerging Diagnostic Tools for Gastrointestinal Malignancies.Archives of Iranian medicine · 2026Review
- Diagnostic performance of eNose technology in detecting colorectal cancer recurrence: A prospective evaluation.PloS one · 2026Article
- Analysis of volatile organic compounds in biological samples of colorectal cancer patients using electronic nose-based machine learning techniques.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Advances in Colorectal Cancer: Epidemiology, Gender and Sex Differences in Biomarkers and Their Perspectives for Novel Biosensing Detection Methods.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- AI-driven breath biopsy from a case-control study assists in the early detection of paediatric brain tumours.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
- Prognostic Significance of the Comprehensive Biomarker Analysis in Colorectal Cancer.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Breath fingerprint of colorectal cancer patients by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis preparatory to e-nose analyses.Practical laboratory medicine · 2025Article
- Research Communication: Breath Testing for Colorectal Cancer Detection in Patients With a Positive Fecal Immunochemical Test: A Multicentre Prospective Cross-Sectional Study With External Validation.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2025Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer diagnosis in the Western world.
aimTo evaluate exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a non-invasive biomarker for the detection of CRC and precursor lesions using an electronic nose.
methodsIn this multicentre study adult colonoscopy patients, without inflammatory bowel disease or (previous) malignancy, were invited for breath analysis. Two-thirds of the breath tests were randomly assigned to develop training models which were used to predict the diagnosis of the remaining patients (external validation). In the end, all data were used to develop final-disease models to further improve the discriminatory power of the algorithms.
resultsFive hundred and eleven breath samples were collected. Sixty-four patients were excluded due to an inadequate breath test (n = 51), incomplete colonoscopy (n = 8) or colitis (n = 5). Classification was based on the most advanced lesion found; CRC (n = 70), advanced adenomas (AAs) (n = 117), non-advanced adenoma (n = 117), hyperplastic polyp (n = 15), normal colonoscopy (n = 125). Training models for CRC and AAs had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.76 and 0.71 and blind validation resulted in an AUC of 0.74 and 0.61 respectively. Final models for CRC and AAs yielded an AUC of 0.84 (sensitivity 95% and specificity 64%) and 0.73 (sensitivity and specificity 79% and 59%) respectively.
conclusionsThis study suggests that exhaled VOCs could potentially serve as a non-invasive biomarker for the detection of CRC and AAs. Future studies including more patients could further improve the discriminatory potential of VOC analysis for the detection of (pre-)malignant colorectal lesions. (https://clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT03488537).
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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.