The scent of human diseases: a review on specific volatile organic compounds as diagnostic biomarkers

The use of body odours, emitted in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has become the focus of scientific research in recent years. Diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders, infections and some other diseases can change the components of daily VOCs, often leading to the production of disease-specific VOCs that might be used as diagnostic biomarkers if detected early enough. We summarize here scientific publications (2003–2013) related to the study of VOCs in human diseases. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.