10344
0
Posted on Aug 20, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Basal cell carcinomas - a common form of skin cancer - could be diagnosed by the chemical scent they give off, according to US researchers.
Basal cell carcinomas - a common form of skin cancer - could be diagnosed by the chemical scent they give off, according to US researchers.
In news that may be of interest to anti aging physicians, scientists at the Monell Centre in Philadelphia sampled the air directly above the basal cell carcinomas and found it differed to similar samples taken from above healthy skin.
A total of 22 patients - 11 of whom had the condition and 11 who did not - took part in the trials, which used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify the precise chemical composition of their scent.
It was noted that all the air samples contained the same ingredients, but the patients with cancer had different concentrations of certain chemicals, the BBC notes.
"Our findings may someday allow doctors to screen for and diagnose skin cancers at very early stages," commented Dr Michelle Gallagher as she presented the results at the American Chemical Society's annual conference.
Meanwhile, staff from Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center recently developed synthetic molecules in a controlled environment which demonstrated a reduction of cancer cells.
