A research team from the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna is breaking new ground in precision medicine: it has developed an innovative method for analyzing metabolic profiles from finger sweat. The results of a pilot study just published in the renowned EPMA Journal show that this non-invasive method can be used in breast cancer patients to obtain information about the course of the disease, the effects of therapy and individual lifestyle habits. This could significantly improve the personalized treatment of patients in the future.
Finger sweat is a particularly "precious drop " because it contains molecules from the interstitial fluid (circulating between the cells), which is otherwise difficult to access and is of great medical importance as a site of action for many therapeutic agents. However, analyzing this fluid directly for various parameters has been difficult until now - a challenge that the scientists at the Joint Metabolome Facility, an inter-university facility of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, have now met with great success. They have developed an innovative method for analyzing finger sweat: completely painless and non-invasive, a microscopically small amount of sweat is sufficient - and provides astonishingly precise insights into individual metabolic profiles.
Simple collection and precise analysis
Samuel Meier-Menches, last author and co-study leader at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Vienna, explains: "Our procedure is amazingly simple for the patients: they hold a piece of moistened special paper between their thumb and index finger to collect the tiny amount of sweat that is sufficient for the analysis. People can easily do this themselves and are not exposed to the stress of unpleasant, invasive procedures that would also have to be carried out by medical professionals." The composition of the finger sweat is then analyzed using a mass spectrometry method. This allows not only important metabolic products to be detected, but also medication administered or lifestyle factors such as smoking habits.
In clinical use for the first time
The new analysis method has now been used clinically for the first time for biomonitoring in breast cancer and thoroughly tested in cancer patients during the first chemotherapy phase. The research team was able to show that the patients’ finger sweat reflects the systemic effect of their tumors. In addition to being able to individually track the levels and efficacy of drugs such as cyclophosphamide and ondansetron, significant changes in metabolic profiles attributable to tumor mass were identified. This method enables long-term biomonitoring of disease progression, which can be carried out non-invasively and decentrally. "We were able to show that this type of analysis enables precise monitoring of treatment response and metabolic changes in breast cancer - without having to constantly take blood samples from patients," adds first study author Michael Bolliger from MedUni Vienna’s Department of General Surgery.
Prospects for precision medicine
The results show that finger sweat analysis is a viable alternative to invasive blood tests and could significantly advance precision medicine. In a planned follow-up project, the pilot study is to be extended to a larger group of patients in order to confirm the results so far. "This technique is still in the development phase, but further studies will follow to evaluate its potential for everyday clinical practice," explains Florian Fitzal, co-study leader and Head of Breast Reconstruction at Hanusch Hospital in Vienna. The researchers are convinced that their method will revolutionize access to precise diagnoses and tailor-made therapies.
Publication: EPMA Journal
Mass spectrometry-based analysis of eccrine sweat supports predictive, preventive and personalised medicine in a cohort of breast cancer patients in Austria.
Michael Bolliger, Daniel Wasinger, Julia Brunmair, Gerhard Hagn, Michael Wolf, Karin Preindl, Birgit Reiter, Andrea Bileck, Christopher Gerner, Florian Fitzal und Samuel M. Meier Menches.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13167-025-00396-6