Owing to the lack of specific symptoms, diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) may be delayed. We evaluated volatile organic compounds in tumor samples from patients suffering from HNSCC and tested the hypothesis that there is a characteristic altered composition in the headspace of HNSCC compared with control samples from the same patient with normal squamous epithelium. These results provide the basis for future noninvasive breath analysis in HNSCC. Headspace air of suspected tumor and contralateral control samples in 20 patients were analyzed using ion-mobility spectrometry. Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 16 patients. In total, we observed 93 different signals in headspace measurements. Squamous cell carcinomas revealed significantly higher levels of volatile cyclohexanol (0.54 ppbv , 25th to 75th percentiles 0.35-0.86) compared with healthy squamous epithelium (0.24 ppbv , 25th to 75th percentiles 0.12-0.3; p < 0.001). In conclusion, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma emitted significantly higher levels of volatile cyclohexanol in headspace compared with normal squamous epithelium. These findings form the basis for future breath analysis for diagnosis, therapy control and the follow-up of HNSSC to improve therapy and aftercare.

中文翻译：

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头颈部鳞状细胞癌中挥发性有机化合物的体外初步研究。

由于缺乏特定症状，头颈鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）的诊断可能会延迟。我们评估了患有HNSCC的患者的肿瘤样品中的挥发性有机化合物，并验证了与正常鳞状上皮的同一患者的对照样品相比，HNSCC的顶空成分发生了改变的假说。这些结果为将来在HNSCC中进行无创呼吸分析提供了基础。使用离子迁移谱仪分析了20名患者的疑似肿瘤和对侧对照样品的顶空空气。确诊16例鳞状细胞癌。在顶空测量中，我们总共观察到93种不同的信号。鳞状细胞癌显示出显着较高的挥发性环己醇（0.54 ppbv，第25至75个百分位数0。35-0.86）与健康的鳞状上皮（0.24 ppbv，第25至75个百分位数0.12-0.3； p <0.001）相比。总之，与正常鳞状上皮相比，头颈部鳞状细胞癌在顶空释放出显着更高水平的挥发性环己醇。这些发现为将来进行呼吸分析以诊断，控制治疗和对HNSSC进行随访以改善治疗和术后护理奠定了基础。