Breath of Life

Scientists from Israel and China have developed a new type of breath test to diagnose stomach cancer with 90% accuracy. The test functions by detecting biomarkers which are an indicator of some biological state or condition. A breath test is all that would be needed to diagnose and distinguish between cancer and other complications in the digestive system.

Scientists for the experiment took breath samples of 130 patients with a range of stomach complaints and found that the nano-material sensors picked up the minutest of details in the breath. It had 90% success rate in identifying cancer from other less harmful diseases.

Researchers hope that this breath test can be used as an alternative to costly and invasive techniques such as endoscopy. The breath test is based on artificial or electronic nose technology in which sensors sniff out chemical compounds of stomach cancer or other diseases. In this technique cancer molecules rise up the oesophagus and are exhaled into the apparatus. These molecules are then analyzed by the device using algorithms.