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 06 July 2008 15:27 BST

Breath test 'detects lung cancer'

Monday, 26 Feb 2007 13:37
People's breath could hold potential for detecting lung cancer

Health In Focus 

A colour sensor breath test could detect lung cancer even in its earliest stages, researchers claim today.

Due to cancer's silent nature it is difficult to diagnose the disease at a stage when it can be effectively treated.

But scientists behind the latest test believe that it could revolutionise the way lung cancer is detected and could potentially save lives.

US researchers from the Cleveland Clinic used a test which changes colour when it detects changes in the chemical compounds of people's breath. These compounds are affected by changes in lung cancer cells.

The breath of 122 people with different types of respiratory disease, including small-cell lung cancer, and 21 healthy people were also tested.

Cancer was detected in three out of four of the people with lung cancer. Age, gender, sex or stage of the disease failed to impact on the test's results.

Writing in the journal Thorax the researchers argue: "Ultimately, this line of investigation could lead to an inexpensive, non-invasive screening or diagnostic test for lung cancer."

Cancer Research estimates that around 37,100 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year in the UK.
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