Scientists create device to detect cancers through breath

Making cancer detection more easy and quick, scientists developed a cancer-detecting breathalyzer that can detect cancer just through a person’s breath and have already begun its clinical trials.

A UK-based diagnostics company ‘Owlstone Medical’ designed a cancer detection device that will be able to detect multiple cancers simply through a patient’s breathing.

The device, called ‘Breath Biopsy’ is designed to recognize molecules that indicate a range of cancers by detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The presence of certain VOCs in a person’s breath can indicate cancer even before any other symptoms come to surface.

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For the clinical trials, the researchers will direct 1,500 participants to breathe into the device for 10 minutes each. The participants will be suspected to have six various types of cancers: stomach, kidney, esophageal, bladder, pancreatic, liver, or prostrate, reported New Atlas.

Once the samples are collected, the team will then figure out if the device can detect differences between the breath of healthy people and people with cancer. Later, the team also hopes to find out if the breathalyzer can distinguish between different cancer types.

The researchers aim to publish their research along with the results by 2021. Collaborating with Cancer Research UK, if the trial goes well, the team hopes that soon Breath Biopsy can offer easier way to detect cancers in patients, as per Futurism.

“There is increasing potential for breath-based tests to aid diagnosis, sitting alongside blood and urine tests in an effort to help doctors detect and treat disease. The concept of providing a whole-body snapshot in a completely non-invasive way is very powerful and could reduce harm by sparing patients from more invasive tests that they don’t need,” Owlstone CEO Billy Boyle said.