Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jul 20;24(14):4712.
doi: 10.3390/s24144712.

Unveiling Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers: Harnessing Biosensor Technology for Volatile Organic Compound Detection

Rebecca Golfinopoulou  1 , Kyriaki Hatziagapiou  2 , Sophie Mavrikou  1   3 , Spyridon Kintzios  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Unveiling Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers: Harnessing Biosensor Technology for Volatile Organic Compound Detection

Rebecca Golfinopoulou et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Conventional screening options for colorectal cancer (CRC) detection are mainly direct visualization and invasive methods including colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy, which must be performed in a clinical setting and may be linked to adverse effects for some patients. Non-invasive CRC diagnostic tests such as computed tomography colonography and stool tests are either too costly or less reliable than invasive ones. On the other hand, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are potentially ideal non-invasive biomarkers for CRC detection and monitoring. The present review is a comprehensive presentation of the current state-of-the-art VOC-based CRC diagnostics, with a specific focus on recent advancements in biosensor design and application. Among them, breath-based chromatography pattern analysis and sampling techniques are overviewed, along with nanoparticle-based optical and electrochemical biosensor approaches. Limitations of the currently available technologies are also discussed with an outlook for improvement in combination with big data analytics and advanced instrumentation, as well as expanding the scope and specificity of CRC-related volatile biomarkers.

Keywords: VOC; biomarkers; biosensor; colorectal cancer; early diagnosis; non-invasive; volatile organic compounds.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the steps associated with VOC biosensor development.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) CRC is initiated via the adenoma-carcinoma sequence in 70% of cases. (B) 25–30% of CRC cases arise through the SSL-to-carcinoma pathways.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of adenomas in the general population.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Flowchart of the process from collecting the sample to treatment. By using a POC biosensor to analyze samples and detect VOCs in patients’ breath samples, the process becomes quicker, resulting in faster treatment for the patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Bray F., Laversanne M., Sung H., Ferlay J., Siegel R.L., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J. Clin. 2024;74:229–263. doi: 10.3322/caac.21834. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Colorectal Cancer. [(accessed on 11 July 2023)];2023 Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/colorectal-cancer.
    1. Moen L., Liu B., Bukirwa P., Chingonzoh T., Chokunonga E., Finesse A., Korir A., Lamin B., Lorenzoni C.F., Manraj S.S., et al. Trends in the incidence of colorectal cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: A population-based registry study. Int. J. Cancer. 2024;155:675–682. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34942. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arnold M., Sierra M.S., Laversanne M., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A., Bray F. Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Gut. 2017;66:683–691. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-310912. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schreuders E.H., Ruco A., Rabeneck L., E Schoen R., Sung J.J.Y., Young G.P., Kuipers E.J. Colorectal cancer screening: A global overview of existing programmes. Gut. 2015;64:1637–1649. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-309086. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.

LinkOut - more resources