Immune cell therapy may provide alternatives to chemotherapy as a way of treating cancer. (Photo : REUTERS)
Israeli scientists have designed a test which uses the breath of an individual to detect the chances of developing gastric or stomach cancer.
The scientists from the University of Latvia and the Israeli Institute of Technology claimed the test had the potential to detect cases of individuals who posed a high risk. The finding of scientists Russell Berrie and Professor Hossam Haick were published via Gut.
The "nanoarray" breath test put together by the scientists could prove to be a screening tool for Gastric Cancers as well as precancerous lesions, the online journal claimed.
Trials of the test which involved the measuring of changes in the compunds of an indivdual's breath have proven to be successful indicators of cancer in the study.
The procedure works on the basis that individuals with cancer possess breath signatures or "breath prints" that are unique from one another. These prints possess the smallest particle like chemical compounds which are not present in the breath of individuals who are healthy.
The results of the test were more than 90 percent successful in identifying the "breath prints" which contained cancer, in patients the online journal claimed.
Stomach cells of cancer patients that had been through changes with a potential to lead to cancer, could also be detected with the same level of success, the findings in the journal claim.
Tests by the scientists were carried out on over 400 individuals of whom 99 individuals had previously been diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Prof. Hossam Haick, Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie, Nanotechnology Institute in Israel told the New Zealand Herald that the test was "non-invasiveness" and had a "rapid predictiveness,"
The duo also told the publication that the tests' low-cost nature was another attraction.
