Detection of smell print differences between nonmalignant and malignant prostate cells with an electronic nose

Aim: To determine whether an electronic nose can differentiate cultured nonmalignant and malignant prostatic cells from each other and whether the smell print is secreted to the surrounding medium. Materials & methods: Prostatic nonmalignant (EP-156T and controls) and malignant (LNCaP) cell lines, as well as conditioned and unconditioned media, were collected. The smell prints of the samples were analyzed by a ChemPro® 100 electronic nose device. The data were normalized and dimension reduction was conducted. The samples were classified and misclassification rates were calculated. Results: The electronic nose differentiated the nonmalignant and malignant cell lines from each other, achieving misclassification rates of 2.9–3.6%. Cells did not differ from the conditioned medium but differed from the unconditioned medium (misclassification rates: 0.0–25.6%). Conclusion: Malignant and nonmalignant prostatic cell lines have distinct smell prints. Prostatic cancer cells seem to modify the smell print of their medium.