Exploiting volatile fingerprints for bladder cancer diagnosis: A scoping review of metabolomics and sensor-based approaches

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024-01-02

Authors

Paula Guedes de Pinho (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Talanta

Vol. 268

ISSN: 0039-9140

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 1 Citation

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Z-5HS

DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125296

Abstract (EN): Bladder cancer (BC) represents a significant global health concern, for which early detection is essential to improve patient outcomes. This review evaluates the potential of the urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as biomarkers for detecting and staging BC. The methods used include gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics and electronic-nose (e-nose) sensors. The GC-MS studies that have been published reveal diverse results in terms of diagnostic performance. The sensitivities range from 27 % to an impressive 97 %, while specificities vary between 43 % and 94 %. Furthermore, the accuracies reported in these studies range from 80 to 89 %. In the urine of BC patients, a total of 80 VOCs were discovered to be significantly altered when compared to controls. These VOCs encompassed a variety of chemical classes such as alcohols, aldehydes, alkanes, aromatic compounds, fatty acids, ketones, and terpenoids, among others. Conversely, e-nose-based studies displayed sensitivities from 60 to 100 %, specificities from 53 to 96 %, and accuracies from 65 to 97 %. Interestingly, conductive polymer-based sensors performed better, followed by metal oxide semiconductor and optical sensors. GC-MS studies have shown improved performance in detecting early stages and low-grade tumors, providing valuable insights into staging. Based on these findings, VOC-based diagnostic tools hold great promise for early BC detection and staging. Further studies are needed to validate biomarkers and their classification performance. In the future, advancements in VOC profiling technologies may significantly contribute to improving the overall survival and quality of life for BC patients.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13