Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study

Introduction: Skin cancer sites are known to release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and these compounds can be collected and analysed to aid in the chemical profiling of skin cancers. Patients and methods: We designed a new solid phase micro extraction (SPME) adaptation which allows portable coll...

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Main Authors: Richard Paul, Velupillai Ilankovan, James Dray, Beatriu Asamote, Libby Cowling, Ramin Boroujerdi, Santanu Majumder, Huseyin Dogan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:EJC Skin Cancer
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772611825004616
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author Richard Paul
Velupillai Ilankovan
James Dray
Beatriu Asamote
Libby Cowling
Ramin Boroujerdi
Santanu Majumder
Huseyin Dogan
author_facet Richard Paul
Velupillai Ilankovan
James Dray
Beatriu Asamote
Libby Cowling
Ramin Boroujerdi
Santanu Majumder
Huseyin Dogan
author_sort Richard Paul
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Skin cancer sites are known to release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and these compounds can be collected and analysed to aid in the chemical profiling of skin cancers. Patients and methods: We designed a new solid phase micro extraction (SPME) adaptation which allows portable collection of skin VOCs using a combination of direct contact and headspace collection modes. VOC samples were collected from 20 clinically diagnosed skin cancers, a non-affected area of each patient as a control, and samples from a volunteer group as a separate control. Results: Our new device adaptation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) / divinylbenzene (DVB) SPME was found to retain a variety of VOCs, and showed superior VOC collecting performance compared to other techniques. GCMS analysis revealed specific VOCs present in skin cancers not demonstrated in non-affected areas on healthy volunteers. Conclusion: Hexadecanoic acid was the most frequently discovered compound in the skin cancer group. Our new approach to SPME collection of VOCs shows promise for future study of VOC skin cancer biomarkers.
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issn 2772-6118
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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series EJC Skin Cancer
spelling doaj-art-8a55a315f1dc432294114c2c9fdcede82025-08-20T05:08:17ZengElsevierEJC Skin Cancer2772-61182025-01-01310074010.1016/j.ejcskn.2025.100740Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research studyRichard Paul0Velupillai Ilankovan1James Dray2Beatriu Asamote3Libby Cowling4Ramin Boroujerdi5Santanu Majumder6Huseyin Dogan7Bournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK; Correspondence to: Christchurch House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, UK.University Hospitals Dorset, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKBournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKIntroduction: Skin cancer sites are known to release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and these compounds can be collected and analysed to aid in the chemical profiling of skin cancers. Patients and methods: We designed a new solid phase micro extraction (SPME) adaptation which allows portable collection of skin VOCs using a combination of direct contact and headspace collection modes. VOC samples were collected from 20 clinically diagnosed skin cancers, a non-affected area of each patient as a control, and samples from a volunteer group as a separate control. Results: Our new device adaptation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) / divinylbenzene (DVB) SPME was found to retain a variety of VOCs, and showed superior VOC collecting performance compared to other techniques. GCMS analysis revealed specific VOCs present in skin cancers not demonstrated in non-affected areas on healthy volunteers. Conclusion: Hexadecanoic acid was the most frequently discovered compound in the skin cancer group. Our new approach to SPME collection of VOCs shows promise for future study of VOC skin cancer biomarkers.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772611825004616Skin cancerSPMEGCMSBiomarkerVOC
spellingShingle Richard Paul
Velupillai Ilankovan
James Dray
Beatriu Asamote
Libby Cowling
Ramin Boroujerdi
Santanu Majumder
Huseyin Dogan
Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
EJC Skin Cancer
Skin cancer
SPME
GCMS
Biomarker
VOC
title Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
title_full Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
title_fullStr Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
title_full_unstemmed Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
title_short Potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics – A prospective research study
title_sort potential biomarkers of skin cancer diagnosis revealed through volatile metabolomics a prospective research study
topic Skin cancer
SPME
GCMS
Biomarker
VOC
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772611825004616
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