An electronic nose developed in Israel can distinguish between molecules found in the breath of patients with head and neck cancer and those of healthy people, according to initial research published in the British Journal of Cancer (April 20, 2011).
Researchers from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology collected breath samples from 82 people in three groups: patients with head and neck cancer, lung cancer patients, and healthy people. The team examined the differences in the molecules present in the exhaled breath of each group using a device called the Nano Artificial Nose (NA-Nose).
The team examined the potential for a future test to be developed to diagnose head and neck cancer and distinguish it from lung cancer. They found the NA-Nose was able to distinguish between molecules found in the exhaled breath of patients with head and neck cancer and those of healthy volunteers. It also distinguished between lung cancer patients and healthy controls and between groups with head and neck cancer and lung cancer.
"These interesting initial results show promise for the development of a breath test to detect head and neck cancers, which are often diagnosed at an advanced stage," said Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, in a press release. "But it's important to be clear that this is a small study, at a very early stage, so many more years of research with patients will be needed to see if a breath test could be used in the clinic."
