Breath test helps detect colorectal cancer

Italian researchers have said an experimental health test can diagnose colorectal cancer with an accuracy of over 75%.

The results of this study are published in the Journal of Surgery in the UK.

The team led by Donato Altomare of Aldo Mori University's Department of Emergency and Transplantation collected the breath results of 37 patients with colorectal cancer and 41 healthy subjects.

The breaths of these people were then analyzed through gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to find traces of a chemical called volatile organic compounds related to cancer. .

As a result, the electronic 'nose' discovered many important molecules from the tumor, which is being used in the diagnosis of lung and breast cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Europe after lung cancer and third in the United States.

The cost of human and financial resources to treat this disease is making researchers look for faster, cheaper and simpler diagnostic tools than test methods such as cancer cell division. , blood is hidden in the stool or colonoscopy to detect dangerous polyps.

Altomare said: 'Breath sampling techniques are easy and do not have to penetrate even though this method is still in the early stages of development. The findings in our study contribute to improving the value of the test vapor test as a screening tool '.