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Project

External validation of breath-based biomarker for the non-invasive screening of pleural mesothelioma (MESOBREATH).

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive cancer, characterized by a long latency period between the presumed causal asbestos exposure and diagnosis. Its aspecific clinical manifestation hampers earlystage diagnosis, leading to a dismal prognosis of the disease. Although different blood biomarkers have been investigated, none of them are currently applied for screening. The search for new, non-invasive biomarkers allowing early detection has shifted towards the field of "breathomics". Exhaled breath contains a plethora of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that originate either from exogenous sources or from endogenous biochemical processes. As the presence of mesothelioma cancer cells alters certain processes in the body by inducing both chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, we can state that changes in the metabolic status of a patient is reflected in changes in the breath profile. Our research group already initiated several sequential MesoBreath Studies evaluating the potential of breath analysis as a screening tool for an at-risk population. The MesoBreath 1 and 2 studies isolated several breath compounds which are currently being identified and confirmed by in vitro analysis in MesoBreath 3. In this third part of our study, we are performing in vitro work involving the analysis of the VOCs in the headspace air of mesothelioma cell lines. The aim of this 4th Meso Breath study is to perform the external validation of these compounds, in an independent patient group included by an international consortium. This prospective validation is the necessary step before clinical implementation.
Date:1 Oct 2017 →  31 Oct 2022
Keywords:MESOTHELIOMA
Disciplines:Respiratory medicine