Breath test shows promise in diagnosing stomach cancer

Conclusion This is a useful proof of concept study that has demonstrated how the measurement of VOCs in exhaled breath may be of use in distinguishing different stages of pre-cancerous change from established stomach cancer. The researchers show that the new nanoarray system that looks at the pattern of VOCs in exhaled breath has high accuracy for distinguishing cancer from pre-cancer. However, it was less reliable at distinguishing between different stages of pre-cancer. The researchers suggest possible benefits of the nanoarray system in that it is non-invasive, quick, easy to use and inexpensive. They suggest that it could potentially provide a new method of screening for stomach cancer and pre-cancer, allowing a method of surveillance of people with pre-cancer who may be at different levels of risk for developing cancer in the future. However, this is too early to say whether this will come to fruition.  So far, this study has only examined the breath analyser in a sample of people with known diagnostic status. It would next need to be tested in samples of people with stomach symptoms and no established diagnosis, to see how accurate it was at indicating the diagnosis. It would also need to show whether it offers any benefits compared to current diagnostic methods. Stomach cancer is not currently screened for in the UK. Even if further study confirms that this test is reliable, the balance of benefits against risks need to be carefully considered before thinking about in...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medical practice Source Type: news