Breath Biopsy technology enters clinical trials

Cancer Research UK researchers have commenced a clinical trial to develop a breath test that could help to find cancer early. The Breath Biopsy technology trial will be conducted by the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre and Oilstone Medical, and will start with patients with suspected stomach and oesophageal cancers, moving on to those with suspected kidney, prostate, liver, bladder and pancreatic cancers further down the line. Breath samples from 1,500 people and patients will be collected to see if odorous molecules called volatile organic compounds can be detected. The hope is that analysis of these molecules could indicate the presence of multiple types of cancer at an early stage. Early detection is vital to improving cancer survival as treatment is more likely to be effective. Cancer Research UK has said it will invest over £20 million per year in early detection research.
Lead trial investigator at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, said: “We urgently need to develop new tools, like this breath test, which could help to detect and diagnose cancer earlier, giving patients the best chance of surviving their disease. Through this clinical trial we hope to find signatures in breath needed to detect cancers earlier. It’s the crucial next step in developing this technology. Owlstone Medical’s Breath Biopsy technology is the first to test across multiple cancer types, potentially paving the way for a universal breath test.”