Breath volatile organic compounds and inflammatory markers in adult asthma patients - negative results from the ALLIANCE cohort.

Breathomics in asthma is a rapidly growing area of significant scientific interest, as indicated by a recently published review, two research articles, and their accompanying editorials in high impact pneumology journals [1–5]. The repeatedly observed associations between breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sputum or blood inflammatory cells [2, 3] suggest that breathomics are on the brink of introduction as a valuable clinically tool. However, there are also major concerns about unresolved methodological issues and a general paucity of high-quality data [1, 6]. In this letter we detail our concerns with breath-omics based on data from a cohort of adult asthma patients with a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: Dr. Holz has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Waschki has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Watz has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Kirsten has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Mustafa Abdo has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Pedersen has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Weckmann has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Fuchs has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Dittrich has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Hansen reports grants from Unrestricted Research Grants from the German Federal Mininstry for Education and Resarch (BMBF) for the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), during the conduct of the study;. Conflict of interest: Dr. Kopp reports personal fees from ALK-Abello, personal fees from Allergopharma, personal fees from Chiesi, personal fees from Meda, personal fees from Novartis Pharma, personal fees from Vertex, personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees from Infectopharm, grants from Allergopharma, grants from Vertex, from null, outside the submitted work;. Conflict of interest: Dr. von Mutius reports grants from Unrestricted Research Grants from the German Federal Mininstry for Education and Resarch (BMBF) for the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Springer-Verlag GmbH, personal fees from Georg Thieme Verlag, personal fees from HiPP GmbH & Co KG, personal fees from Elsevier Ltd., personal fees from OM Pharma S. A., personal fees from Bohringer Ingelheim International GmbH, personal fees from Peptinnovate Ltd., outside the submitted work; In addition, Dr. von Mutius has a patent LU101064 - Barn dust extract for the prevention and treatment of diseases pending, a patent EP2361632: Specific environmental bacteria for the protection from and/or the treatment of allergic, chronic inflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders with royalties paid to ProtectImmun GmbH, a patent Publication number EP 1411977: Composition containing bacterial antigens used for the prophylaxis and the treatment of allergic diseases. licensed to ProtectImmun GmbH, a patent Publication number EP1637147: Stable dust extract for allergy protection licensed to ProtectImmun GmbH, and a patent Publication number EP 1964570: Pharmaceutical compound to protect against allergies and inflammatory diseases licensed to ProtectImmun GmbH. Conflict of interest: Prof. Dr. Klaus F. Rabe reports grants and personal fee from Boehringer Ingelheim and Astra Zeneca, personal fee from Novartis, Sanofi, Regeneron, Roche and Chiesi Pharmaceuticals outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. Hohlfeld reports grants from German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, grants from AstraZeneca AB, grants from Novartis, grants from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, grants from ALK, grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, grants from LETI, grants from GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, grants from Sanofi-Aventis, personal fees from Merck & Co, Inc., personal fees from Novartis, grants from Astellas Pharma, grants from Allergopharma, personal fees from HAL, outside the submitted work;. Conflict of interest: Dr. Bahmer reports grants from BMBF: Unrestricted research grant for the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), during the conduct of the study; personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from GlaxoSmithKline, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Roche, outside the submitted work;.