A simple hand-held breath test device could help improve early lung cancer detection, researchers have found.
The low-cost test could potentially be used in the UK Targeted Lung Health Check programme to improve the efficiency of screening by reducing the number of expensive CT scans needed.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK and there are around 48,500 new lung cancer cases every year – more than 130 every day. And while mortality rates are decreasing, lung cancer is still the most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
Lead researcher Dr Sean Knight, from Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester, explained: “If lung cancer is found early, treatment can be given earlier too, giving a better chance of recovery.
“We know from previous research that hydrogen peroxide is produced when lung tumours are present and this can be detected in exhaled breath. For our research, we worked with people taking part in the Greater Manchester Targeted Lung Health Check programme, some with suspected lung cancer and a control group who had a history of smoking but were low risk for cancer.
High accuracy
“Using Inflammacheck, a point-of-care device, we found that measuring exhaled hydrogen peroxide can be used to distinguish early lung cancer patients with high accuracy. We also carried out an independent analysis to look for new exhaled molecules associated with lung cancer that could be added to Inflammacheck in the future to improve performance.”
The two-year study involved nearly 60 participants, 34 of them with suspected lung cancer, and was funded by the Wellcome Trust. It was sponsored by Northern Care Alliance and Exhalation Technology Ltd. The inpatient research team at NCA ran the study, managed by Jane Shaw.
The research team – which also involved colleagues from the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust – now aim to validate their results in larger studies on different locations and with diverse patient groups.
If successful, they say this non-invasive test could be used not only in structured screening programmes but also in primary care settings, where GPs often have to decide whether to refer patients with lung cancer symptoms such as persistent cough, unexplained weight loss, or coughing up blood that could also signal benign respiratory conditions.
The study has been published in the journal Clinical and Translational Science.
- Danita Patel, Leon D’Cruz, Waqar Ahmed, Anoop Chauhan, Nawar Bakerly, Seamus Grundy, Drupad Trivedi, Sean Knight: Harnessing exhaled breath for lung cancer early detection – results from the ExPeL study (Clinical & Translational Science)