Every breath you take: The value of the electronic nose (e-nose) technology in the early detection of lung cancer

Feature Editor's Note—In this Feature Expert Opinion article, Dr Rocco presents a thoughtfully constructed review detailing the background and significance of an emerging technology in thoracic oncology. Breath samples have recently been found to contain as many as 3000 exhaled volatile organic compounds. These organic compounds are generated through a variety of cellular biochemical processes and are measurable by a number of technologies, well described in this article. On the basis of this premise, exhaled breath fingerprints (volatile organic compound signatures) have proved useful in the differentiation of benign from malignant nodules, which remains a substantial unmet need.