New breath test with 90% accuracy could identify stomach cancers in minutes

A breathalyser has been developed that could give diagnosis within minutes of cancers of the stomach and oesophagus (gullet). Routine lab tests can take up to six hours.

The test will also prevent the need for an endoscopy, potentially saving the NHS up to £145m a year.

The test involves the patient breathing into a breathalyser, identifying characteristic odours produced by cancerous tumours.

The test was developed by scientists at Imperial College, who say that malignant and benign cancers can be discriminated between for the first time.

The results from a trial involving over 200 patients have been promising, and a larger trial involving 400 patients at three hospitals in London is now being planned.

Cancer of the oesophagus and stomach account for 15% of all cancer deaths. Because symptoms are rarely detected earlier on, they are not usually diagnosed until the late stages. Long-term survival rates in the UK are 15 per cent for gastric cancer and 13 per cent for oesophageal cancer.

Lead author of the study, Professor George Hanna, said “Oesophageal and gastric cancers are on the rise in the UK with more than 16,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

“The current method for detecting these cancers is expensive, invasive and a diagnosis is usually made at a late stage and often the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This makes it harder to treat and results in poor long-term survival rates.

“Our breath test could address these problems because it can help diagnose patients with early non-specific symptoms as well as reduce the number of invasive endoscopies carried out on patients, which often lead to negative results. Diagnosis at an early stage could ultimately save more lives.”

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