An international team of researchers has developed a rapid breathalyzer test that allows the early detection of some cancers.
The test is still at an experimental stage, but the promising results already discussed a year ago by researchers at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology appear to be confirmed. According to a study published this week in the British Journal of Cancer, scientists are able to differentiate cancer patients from healthy patients by analyzing their breath with a fast, non- painful and potentially inexpensive way.
Locate and identify tumors through a breathing test
The breath test that detects cancer is based on the observation that when a tumor grows the surface of cancerous cells gives out volatile organic compounds that can be found in human breath.
Researchers, working on an "electronic nose" sensors, have discovered that gold nanoparticles are capable of identifying these elements. They are not only capable of detecting the presence of cancer, but also determine if it is a colorectal, breast, prostate or lung cancer. These four are the most common cancers found among men and women alike. They are responsible for 60% of mortality in cancer patients.
The experience mentioned in the BJC was conducted with 177 volunteers, aged 20-75 years. Patients with cancer were subjected to the test right after they were diagnosed with the traditional techniques and before starting any treatment . Patient ag, gender or lifestyle (eg. smoking) , which may alter the chemistry inside the mouth, had no impact on results.
One of the study authors Prof. Abraham Kutenai tells the French Le Figaro that the results of this study can lead to developing a simple tool that can detect and diagnose various types of cancers early. However, the researchers first need to confirm the results of this breath test in larger studies.
Now if cancers are detected early there is a greater chance of cure. It is particularly important to detect cancer cells before they pass into the bloodstream or lymphatic system, causing a risk of metastasis. Beside its function as a diagnostic aid this test could also "allow easy measurement of the effectiveness of treatment and detect any relapse," says Professor Kutenai.
Currently the hospitals have very good and reliable methods of detecting cancer. Yet, they are expensive and take longer time to detect the outcome. Sometimes they are very uncomfortable.
With current methods, it often takes between four days and four weeks for test results to come out. This breathing test can detect cancer in less than an hour and may only cost around 10 dollars. The Israeli researchers however, currently have not yet had any contact with the industry for commercialization.
The breathing test for early cancer detection is a very promising one with far reaching consequences in medical field. However, as mentioned above, this study is a small study and the results need to be confirmed in a much larger scale.
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