Researchers Discover
Scent Of Skin Cancer
According to new
research from the Monell
Center, odors from skin
can be used to identify
basal cell carcinoma,
the most common form of
skin cancer. The
findings, presented at
the 236th meeting of the
American Chemical
Society, may open doors
to development of new
methods to detect basal
cell carcinoma and other
forms of skin cancer.
The researchers sampled
air above basal cell
tumors and found a
different profile of
chemical compounds
compared to skin located
at the same sites in
healthy control
subjects.
"Our findings may
someday allow doctors to
screen for and diagnose
skin cancers at very
early stages," said
Michelle Gallagher, PhD.
Human skin produces
numerous airborne
chemical molecules known
as volatile organic
compounds, or VOCs, many
of which are odorous. In
the study presented at
the ACS, the researchers
obtained VOC profiles
from basal cell
carcinoma sites in 11
patients and compared
them to profiles from
similar skin sites in 11
healthy controls.
Both profiles contained
the same array of
chemicals; the
difference involved the
amounts of specific
chemicals – some were
increased and others
decreased in samples
from basal cell
carcinoma sites.
The researchers plan to
characterize skin odor
profiles associated with
other forms of skin
cancer, including
squamous cell carcinoma
and melanoma, the most
serious form of skin
cancer. |
