Simple breath test could soon screen for stomach cancer following breakthrough
PATIENTS could soon be tested for stomach cancer using a simple breath-test, following a major breakthrough in research.
Scientists have been studying a non-invasive and speedy way to check for signs of the rare disease, which often goes unnoticed until it is too far developed.
The disease, also known as gastric cancer, affects 7,300 people each year in the UK.
There is currently no effective early-stage screening tests. This along with initial symptoms often being mistaken for other ailments, means cancer is usually diagnosed too late to save lives.
But the new study saw scientists at the Israel Institute of Technology develop new technology called nanoarray, which senses tiny changes in breath. It can identify high risk changes, in particular compounds, which signal a development of stomach cancer.
Researchers said the quick results and low cost means patients could be tested rapidly and if they showed to be a high risk, they could then be tested with a conventional endoscopy.
A “major study” is now underway in Europe to test the affectiveness and suitability as a screening method.
The journal Gut, which published the research, said the "attractiveness of this test lies in its non-invasiveness, ease of use (therefore high compliance would be expected), rapid predictiveness, insensitivity to confounding factors and potentially low cost".