Authors: G de Gennaro S Dragonieri F Longobardi M Musti G Stallone L Trizio M Tutino
Publish Date: 2010/10/06
Volume: 398, Issue: 7-8, Pages: 3043-3050
Abstract
Malignant pleural mesothelioma MPM is an aggressive tumour whose main aetiology is the longterm exposure to asbestos fibres The diagnostic procedure of MPM is difficult and often requires invasive approaches therefore it is clinically important to find accurate markers for MPM by new noninvasive methods that may facilitate the diagnostic process and identify patients at an earlier stage In the present study the exhaled breath of 13 patients with histologyestablished diagnosis of MPM 13 subjects with longterm certified professional exposure to asbestos EXP and 13 healthy subjects without exposure to asbestos healthy controls HC were analysed An analytical procedure to determine volatile organic compounds by sampling of air on a bed of solid sorbent and thermal desorption GCMS analysis was developed in order to identify the compounds capable of discriminating among the three groups The application of univariate ANOVA and multivariate statistical treatments PCA DFA and CPANN showed that cyclopentane and cyclohexane were the dominant variables able to discriminate among the three groups In particular it was found that cyclohexane is the only compound able to differentiate the MPM group from the other two therefore it can be a possible marker of MPM Cyclopentane is the dominant compound in the discrimination between EXP and the other groups MPM and HC then it can be considered a good indicator for longterm asbestos exposure This result suggests the need to perform frequent and thorough investigations on people exposed to asbestos in order to constantly monitor their state of health or possibly to study the evolution of disease over time
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