Current Analytical Chemistry - Volume 9, Issue 4, 2013

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) has been applied to determine the concentration of selected metabolites in exhaled breath in five patients before and after gastro-oesophageal cancer surgery. Eight metabolites for exhaled breath stored in Nalophan® bags were specifically investigated using H3O+ and NO+ in the Multiple Ion Mode (MIM) of the SIFT-MS. No significant change is observed for propanol and acetic acid. Metabolites mean values are found to increase for acetone and hexanoic acid in patients after surgery; ammonia, ethanol, hydrogen cyanide and isoprene are found to decrease in the same patients. Mann-Whitney U test is also conducted for these eight metabolites in exhaled breath samples before and after recovery from surgery. Hexanoic acid (p = 0.009) and isoprene (p = 0.016) are found to be statistically significantly different. This study demonstrates SIFT-MS to be a promising technique applicable in a clinical setting for the analysis of exhaled breath metabolites in patients with gastro-oesophageal cancer.