And if your breath could save your life? Thanks to it, many diseases, and in particular certain cancers could be detected.

In addition to poor oral hygiene, the quality of breath can guide a medical diagnosis: fruity breath (ketoacidosis) may be a sign of diabetes, a breath of raw liver may predict liver disease ... The analysis of Breath can help doctors find a disease.

Analyze breath to detect lung cancer

We already knew that the study of breath could help some to detect certain cancers such as breast or colon cancer, but now a new study discusses the possibility of detecting lung cancer with breath *.

" This could completely revolutionize the screening and diagnosis of lung cancer. Here the perspective is the development of a non-invasive, low cost, and easy approach for the early detection and differentiation of lung cancer, "said Professor Fred Hirsch, of the University Medical School Colorado, the main author of this discovery.

How it works ?

It is a simple and non-invasive technique that distinguishes healthy breaths from sick breaths. The patient breathes in a device and the tests are based on the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in the breath by chromatography. Indeed, since the production of VOC is "altered" in patients with cancer to identify them is a good diagnostic element.

This technique could avoid - at least initially - other means of more intrusive screening such as mammography, scans or research in the stool and in the blood. If a risk is identified, further analysis could then be done.

Devices in development

For the moment, breath analyzers are in an experimental phase, but should be on the right track.

Toshiba for example, has developed a device that already allows to analyze three types of gas: acetaldehyde, acetone and methane. The first would be responsible for the headaches characteristic of the "hangover", after the ingestion of alcoholic beverages. The second would be an indicator of diabetes and the risks of obesity. As for the last one, it would be a good indicator for digestive problems. (Source: the generalist.fr)

* results presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)