Patent ID: 9551712
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A method of treating breast cancer in a human comprising the steps of: a) collecting a test breath sample from the human subject, wherein the human subject performs lung washout for at least about 5 minutes and exhales into a breath collector; b) extracting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the breath test sample, wherein the VOCs are absorbed in a solid support, adsorbed on a solid support or a combination thereof; c) determining the level of each VOC from a signature set of VOCs indicative of breast cancer extracted from the test sample, wherein the signature set comprises 2-amino-5-isopropyl-8-methyl-1-azulenecarbonitrile; 6-ethyl-3-octyl ester-2-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid; 3,3-dimethyl-pentane; 5-(2-methylpropyl)-nonane; and 2,3,4-trimethyl-decane, and wherein the step of determining the level of said VOCs comprises the use of Gas-Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS); d) comparing the level of each of said VOCs from the test sample with the level of said VOCs in a control sample, whereby a statistically significant decrease with a p-value of less than 0.05 in the levels of 2-amino-5-isopropyl-8-methyl-1-azulenecarbonitrile; 6-ethyl-3-octyl ester-2-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid; 5-(2-methylpropyl)-nonane; and 2,3,4-trimethyl-decane and a statistically significant increase with a p-value of less than 0.05 in the level of 3,3-dimethyl-pentane in the test sample as compared to the levels of said VOCs in the control sample is indicative of the presence of breast cancer in the human subject, wherein said control sample is obtained from a subject not having cancer; and administering a specific therapeutically effective treatment for breast cancer to the human subject having the statistically significant levels identified in step (d) that indicates the presence of breast cancer in said human subject, wherein said therapeutically effective treatment is chemotherapy.