Detection of cancer via human skin gas analysis

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K06518
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 47020:Pharmaceutical analytical chemistry and physicochemistry-related
• Research Institution: Tokai University
• Principal Investigator: Sekine Yoshika 東海大学, 理学部, 教授 (50328100)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 平林 健一 富山大学, 学術研究部医学系, 教授 (60514388)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 皮膚ガス / 体臭 / がん / 膵臓がん / 組成 / ガスクロマトグラフ / パッシブ・フラックス・サンプラー / ニューラルネットワーク

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cancer patients exhibit a characteristic body odor composed of various volatile compounds emanating from the skin surface. These volatile compounds collectively form what is known as human skin gas. In our study, we aimed to analyze the human skin gas composition of pancreatic cancer patients using a passive flux sampler methodology. Our goal was to develop a simple and non-invasive method for cancer detection based on skin gas profiles. Notably, the skin gas composition of pancreatic cancer patients differed significantly from that of healthy subjects. We observed remarkable changes in the dermal emission fluxes of metabolic products, including nutrients and exogenous chemicals, as well as odorous aldehydes generated from the oxidative degradation of sebum. Leveraging these findings, we applied an artificial neural network to predict cancer using human skin gas profiles, successfully discriminating between cancer patients and healthy subjects under specific conditions

Free Research Field

環境化学、皮膚ガス学、室内環境学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究はこれまで実態が不明であったがん患者の皮膚ガス組成を明らかにしたものである。本研究により、がんの罹患により皮膚ガス組成が変化すること、また皮膚ガス組成を生体情報としてパターン認識することにより、がんを評価できる可能性が示唆された。がんの早期発見は生命予後の改善につながる。本研究の成果は、今後需要増加が見込まれる遠隔医療・在宅医療への応用が期待される。