Keele Research Repository

Lung cancer is a worldwide health problem associated with poor prognosis. The survival at 5 years remains between 5% and 15% in spite of the development of new drugs. One of the main reasons for this is the disease being diagnosed in late stages when curative treatments might not be available. Therefore, some of the most important factors within improving prognosis are both refining diagnostic techniques for early detection, and better assessing tumour response to treatment. Here lies a need for novel diagnostic tools for lung cancer. Spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis of the molecular underpinnings of the disease may provide biochemical signatures for use in diagnostics. Selected Ion Flow Tube – Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy may provide the gold standard of diagnostic assessment that is needed. Given both techniques previous contributions and technological advancements, their clinical requirements are being increasingly met. This is leading towards the opportunity for the study of lung cancer to benefit from the rapid, non-destructive and sensitive qualities they have to offer. In this thesis, both techniques have been used with the aim of improving the diagnosis and management of lung cancer.