Technion Scientists Create Breath Test for Cancer Detection
by Maayana Miskin
Scientists at the Technion in Haifa have created a device that they
hope will be able to detect cancer with a simple breath test. In an
initial trial, the "breathalyzer" test was able to detect lung cancer
with 86 percent accuracy.
The new device was revealed this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Researchers hope the test will provide a simple, cost-effective and
non-invasive method of detecting cancer. In addition, the test is
capable of detecting cancers that are not yet large enough to show up
on X-rays or CT scans, allowing for earlier diagnosis that could save
lives.
The system works by testing for chemicals that tend to be present in
lungs affected by cancer but not in healthy lungs. The Technion team
decided to test for four such chemicals: ethylbenzene, decane,
heptanol and trimethylbenzene.
Patients' breath is sent over a circuit made of silicon embedded with
gold nanoparticles. If the breath contains the organic compounds
common to cancer sufferers, the circuit's electrical resistance will
change.
The research team was led by Hossam Haick. The team had developed a
similar test in the past, using carbon nanotubes. The silicon-gold
combination was found to be superior, they said. Unlike the device
that used carbon nanotubes, the latest development is not sensitive to
the water vapor found in lungs.
In addition, the latest version of the test works even on patients who
have recently ingested alcohol, food, coffee or tobacco. Previous
versions required patients to abstain before the test in order to
avoid false results.
Haick and his team have patented their device, but will continue to
work to perfect it. The device must pass further clinical trials
before being put to use, at which point scientists will face the
challenge of creating versions of the test that are simple and
inexpensive enough to be used in day-to-day practice in hospitals and
clinics.
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