Washington: Odours from skin can help identify basal cell carcinoma, the commonest form of skin cancer, according to latest research.

The findings may open doors to development of new methods to detect basal cell carcinoma and other forms of skin cancer.

Researchers sampled air above basal cell tumours and found a different profile of chemical compounds, compared to skin located at the same sites in healthy control subjects.

"Our findings may someday allow doctors to screen for and diagnose skin cancers at very early stages," said Michelle Gallagher. Human skin produces numerous airborne chemical molecules known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs, many of which are odorous.

Researchers obtained VOC profiles from such carcinoma sites in 11 patients and compared them to profiles from similar skin sites in 11 healthy controls.

Both profiles contained the same array of chemicals; the difference involved the amounts of specific chemicals - some were increased and others decreased in samples from basal cell carcinoma sites.

The researchers plan to characterise skin odour profiles associated with other forms of skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

Gallagher and collaborators sampled air above two skin sites - forearm and upper back - in 25 healthy male and female subjects, who ranged in age from 19 to 79.

Using gas chromatography, they identified almost 100 different chemical compounds coming from skin. The normative skin profile varied between the two body sites, with differences in both the types and concentrations of VOCs.

Gallagher is currently with Rohm and Haas, Spring House.

These findings were presented at the 236th meeting of the American Chemical Society and also published online in the British Journal of Dermatology. IANS