BREATH BIOPSY: A PROMISING DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

Breath biopsy or breath analysis is a relatively recent field of research with much promise in scientific and clinical studies. Breath contains endogenously produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) resulting from metabolites. The principle behind breath biopsy lies in the fact that many diseases produce specific metabolic changes in the body that result in the release of unique VOCs. These compounds can be detected and quantified by using advanced analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) etc. More than 2000 VOCs have been detected in the exhaled breath. These VOCs may be related to hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, carboxylic acids, heterocyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, nitriles, sulfides and terpenoids. VOCs in exhaled breath may be endogenous or exogenous. Endogenous VOCs can diagnose about twenty-five diseases including lung cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, COPD, and even COVID-19 by analysing the breath of patients. Pak J Physiol 2025;21(2):1–2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i2.1837