Table 2. Volatile organic compounds from exhaled breath samples that significantly distinguished (P<0.05) between HNSCC and healthy states, HNSCC and benign tumours, and benign tumours and healthy states.
| |
|
|
|
|
Compound concentration (p.p.b.) |
P-values (Wilcoxon non-parametric method) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
|
|
|
|
HNSCC |
Benign tumours |
Healthy |
Room air (unfiltered) |
|
|
|
||||
| Compound | CAS no. | Chemical group | Retention time (min) | m/z | Median | Interquartile | Median | Interquartile | Median | Interquartile | Median | Interquartile | HNSCC vs healthy | Benign tumours vs healthy | Relatively elevated in |
| Ethanol |
64-17-5 |
Alcohol |
2.52 |
31 |
1198.3 |
2848.1 |
1077.0 |
1950.3 |
504.8 |
698.7 |
2118.5 |
1536.2 |
0.050 |
|
HNSCC |
| 2-Propanenitrile |
107-13-1 |
Nitrile |
3.047 |
53 |
11.9 |
4.4 |
11.1 |
6.4 |
9.5 |
2.5 |
11.1 |
8.3 |
0.038 |
|
HNSCC |
| Undecane | 1120-21-4 | Alkane | 25.8 | 57 | 219.7 | 308.3 | 162.4 | 365.8 | 30.2 | 124.5 | 218.1 | 396.8 | 0.044 | 0.043 | HNSCC/benign tumours |
Abbreviations: CAS=chemical abstracts service; HNSCC=squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; m/z=mass-to-charge ratio (main mass).