Analysis of cytokine pattern in exhaled breath condensate of patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma.

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analysis is a promising method for investigating airway pathology. In this study we compared the cytokine pattern of EBC of patients suffering from squamous cell lung carcinoma with that of healthy smokers. Breath condensates collected from 8 smoking lung cancer patients before receiving any anticancer treatment and 8 smokers without any clinical or radiological evidence of pulmonary tumors were used for antibody microarray analysis testing 120 cytokines simultaneously. Ninety-eight cytokines on the array gave a detectable signal in both groups. Cytokine levels were similar across the samples, and none of the cytokines exhibited a significant increase or decrease in cancer patients as compared to healthy subjects with similar smoking status, lung function, and airway inflammation. The results of this pilot study suggest that patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma cannot be distinguished from smokers with no pulmonary tumors based on EBC cytokine signals only.