A breath test to detect esophageal and gastric cancer – and eventually put an end to more invasive procedures – has lived up to its breakthrough billing as researchers now report 85 percent accuracy in a multi-center clinical trial of 335 patients.
Three years ago researchers at Imperial College London revealed they had devised the test that could discriminate between malignant and benign esophageal cancer in minutes by analyzing breath samples of patients.
Their findings of the test’s accuracy, published Thursday in JAMA Oncology, may help clinicians decide whether further testing in patients is necessary.
According to the National Health Institute, stomach cancer represents 1.5 percent of all new cancer cases in the U.S.
Furthermore, it is estimated that there will be 26,240 new cases of stomach cancer and an estimated 10,800 people will die of this disease in 2018.
Gastric and esophageal cancers are commonly diagnosed too late, when treatment is often ineffective, said Professor George Hanna, lead author of the study at Imperial College London.
There have been other breakthroughs in treatment for stomach cancers, but they are largely focused on helping patients with advanced stomach cancer live longer.
Early detection is the ultimate goal.
"We have been able to validate our cancer breath test for invasive investigations," Hanna said. "Early detection of cancer gives patients more treatment options and save more lives."
Esophageal and gastric cancers are normally diagnosed through an endoscopy, which entails doctors inserting probes with a light source into the mouth and down the gullet in order to examine the inside of the stomach and throat.
Only two per cent of patients who are referred for the invasive procedure by general practitioners are diagnosed with esophageal or gastric cancer.
A breath test is a far less invasive and quicker procedure.
The findings are positive, and now the team of researchers is undertaking further investigations to improve the test and will conduct a larger clinical trial.
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