Skin cancer has 'smell'
Skin cancer has a distinctive "smell" that could be used to diagnose the disease, researchers have learned.
Scientists used a chemical analyser to "sniff" the air above basal cell tumours - the most common form of skin cancer.
It was found to differ from air tested above the same patches of skin in healthy volunteers.
"Our findings may some day allow doctors to screen for and diagnose skin cancers at very early stages," said study leader Dr Michelle Gallagher, from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, US.
Human skin produces numerous airborne "smell" molecules known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
Dr Gallagher's team obtained VOC profiles from basal cell carcinoma sites in 11 patients. These were then compared with profiles from the same number of healthy volunteers.
The scientists hope to characterise skin odour profiles associated with other forms of skin cancer, including the most serious type, melanoma.
Previous research by the same team identified almost 100 different chemical compounds given off by the skin and found in the air above the forearm and upper back.
The new findings were presented at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Nina Goad, from the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "While this research is interesting, it is still quite theoretical at present. These cancers do not normally pose much of a problem for diagnosis when seen by a specialist. They have a distinctive appearance and if there is any doubt than biopsy is a simple confirmatory investigation. For that reason the research is unlikely to impact greatly on how basal cell carcinomas are presently diagnosed."
Related Stories
- 12 January 2009 Online odours databank launched
- 29 October 2008 Sense of smell helped T-rex hunt
- 16 October 2008 Scientist creates 'smell of space'
- 13 August 2008 Pill 'can lead to wrong partner'
- 23 July 2008 Bunged up mouse a boon for research
