Scientists have developed a new breath test that can predict one's risk of developing stomach cancer. If proven effective, it can be a noninvasive and cheaper way of screening for the disease.
The tool was developed by scientists at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa; the same developer of the breath test for Parkinson's disease. It can detect small changes in the chemical compounds of the exhaled breath called "breath prints." The breath samples will be analyzed by the computer, through a method called nanoarray analysis, to rule out if the atoms are undergoing pre-cancerous changes.
"Our study is based on the hypothesis that detection of precancerous lesions may provide a tool to decrease either cancer deaths or incidence [of stomach cancer]," Hossam Haick, study leader and head of the laboratory for nanomaterial-based devices and volatile biomarkers at the Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, told HealthDay News.
"Currently, there is no perfect noninvasive tool to screen for stomach cancer. Small and inexpensive sensing technology could be developed and used to fulfill these clinical needs."
The researchers assessed the accuracy of the breast test by collecting two breath samples from 484 participants for the nanoarray analysis. Twenty percent of the participants were previously diagnosed with stomach cancer and had not undergone any treatment yet.
The breath test showed common patterns that helped the researchers distinguish whether participants had low or high risk of developing stomach cancer. Yet, the researchers admitted that further study is needed before they can use the breath test for clinical diagnoses.
Doctors, on the other hand, are seeing it as a promising early detection tool for patients.
"Diagnosing cancer in its early stages offers patients the best chance of successful treatment, so research like this has potential to help save lives," Emma Smith of Cancer Research UK said to BBC News. "But we would need to be sure the test is sensitive and accurate enough to be used more widely."
The study was published in the April 13 issue of the journal Gut.
