New breath test device for lung cancer shows strong potential

A new device created by an international team of scientists has shown promise in accurately detecting lung cancer and identifying its stage of progression.

Developed by a team of Israeli, American and British cancer researchers, the breathalyser test incorporates a NaNose nanotech chip to detect chemicals called volatile organic compounds, which are produced by lung cancer tumours and produce a discernible scent profile.

In a test conducted among 358 patients who were either diagnosed with or at risk for lung cancer, the device was able to differentiate between benign and malignant lung lesions in four out of five cases.

Professor Nir Peled of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine said: "Our NaNose was able to detect lung cancer with 90 percent accuracy, even when the lung nodule was tiny and hard to sample. It was even able to discriminate between subtypes of cancer, which was unexpected."

The technology has now been licensed by the company Alpha Szenszor, which hopes to introduce it to the market within the next few years. A smaller USB-compatible version is also being created.

Such innovations will facilitate future treatment of lung cancer, a condition diagnosed in more than 41,000 people in the UK each year.