Breath Test Could Help Detect Stomach Cancer, Say Scientists
Breath Test Could Help Detect Stomach Cancer, Say Scientists
PA / The Huffington Post UK
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A breath test could help save thousands of people by detecting the development of stomach cancer, scientists have suggested.
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a relatively uncommon cancer that affects about 7,300 people each year in the UK.
Because the initial symptoms are often mistaken for other health complaints and there is no effective early-stage screening test, it is usually diagnosed when it is too late to save lives.
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A study led by the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology found a new type of technology called nanoarray, which senses tiny changes in the levels of particular compounds in exhaled breath, was able to accurately identify high-risk changes signifying the development of stomach cancer.
Researchers suggest the technology could be used to check patients' risk of stomach cancer, and if it is deemed high they could be tested with a conventional endoscopy.
A major study involving thousands of patients, including those with stomach cancer or pre-cancerous symptoms, is now under way in Europe to test the technology's suitability as a screening method.
The research, which is published online in the journal Gut, concluded that the "attractiveness of this test lies in its non-invasiveness, ease of use (therefore high compliance would be expected), rapid predictiveness, insensitivity to confounding factors and potentially low cost".
The earliest symptoms of stomach cancer are often acidity and burping. Many people diagnosed with stomach cancer have had symptoms like these for years. But they are symptoms of other stomach problems too. Most people who have long term indigestion and wind never develop cancer. Less than 1 in every 50 people going to the doctor with indigestion and burping have cancer. (credit:BSIP via Getty Images)
Feeling full(02 of07)
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Another early symptom can be feeling full up sooner than usual when eating your meals. If this leads to eating less over a period of time, you will start to lose weight. (credit:drbimages via Getty Images)
Bleeding and feeling tired or breathless(03 of07)
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Even early stomach cancers can bleed into the stomach. Losing blood over a period of time can make you anaemic. This means your red blood cell count is too low. Anaemia makes you look pale and feel tired. If you are very anaemic you may also feel breathless. Vomiting blood is not a common early symptom, but it can happen. If it does, the blood may not be clearly seen. The blood you bring up may be bright red, which means it is fresh bleeding. Or it may look dark brown, like used coffee grounds, if the blood has been in the stomach for a while. (credit:Mike Chick via Getty Images)
Blood clots(04 of07)
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People with stomach cancer are more likely to get blood clots. If you have pain or swelling in a leg or sudden chest pain and breathlessness, you could have a blood clot in your leg or lung. You should contact your doctor straight away because you will need immediate anti-clotting medicines. (credit:IAN HOOTON/SPL via Getty Images)
Lack of appetite and weight loss(05 of07)
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Losing your appetite and losing weight are often later symptoms and can be a sign that the cancer is more advanced. Although some people with early stomach cancer lose their appetite too. (credit:JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images)
Fluid in the abdomen(06 of07)
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With an advanced cancer, it may be possible for your doctor to feel a lump in your tummy (abdomen). Some people with advanced stomach cancer develop fluid in the abdomen. This is called ascites. (credit:Media for Medical via Getty Images)
Blood in your stool(07 of07)
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Some stomach cancers bleed but don't make you vomit. The blood goes through your digestive system. This can make your bowel movements look black, like tar. (credit:LWA/Sharie Kennedy via Getty Images)