REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1618588
Research hotspots and frontiers of Application of Mass Spectrometry Breath Test in Respiratory Diseases
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qi Huang Chinese Medicine Academy, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
- 2School of Clinical Medicine, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
- 3Pulmonary Disease Department, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
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Mass spectrometry (MS)-based breath analysis has emerged as a promising non-invasive approach for diagnosing and monitoring respiratory diseases through the identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 467 publications (2003–2024) to map global research trends, influential contributors, and thematic hotspots in this field. Results showed a sustained annual growth rate of 11.03%, with the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and China leading in publication output and institutional collaborations. Key research areas included VOC profiling for COPD, asthma, lung cancer, and COVID-19, as well as advances in real-time MS techniques and machine learning-based data interpretation. Co-citation analysis revealed a shift toward precision medicine and multi-omics integration, underscoring the field’s transition from discovery to clinical translation. Despite challenges in standardization and reproducibility, MS-based breathomics holds transformative potential for respiratory diagnostics. This study provides a roadmap for future research priorities, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, composite biomarker validation, and artificial intelligence integration.
Keywords: Mass spectrometry1, Breath test2, Respiratory diseases3, Volatile organic compounds4, bibliometrics5, biomarkers6
Received: 26 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Qiu, Yuan, Wang, Du, Wang and Ding. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lihua Wang, Pulmonary Disease Department, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Zhaohui Ding, Pulmonary Disease Department, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.