NanoNose: The electronic nose that detects cancer!
A simple and inexpensive breath test will diagnose whether a person with gastrointestinal problems is at risk of developing stomach cancer.
The portable electronic «nose», which uses gold nanoparticles, detects the organic volatile substances (molecules) that are present in a person's breath and which constitute the chemical «signature» of potentially dangerous pre‑cancerous alterations in the stomach.
The non-invasive NanoNose test, which provides an alternative solution compared to invasive endoscopy, is in the finalization stage, by Israeli and Lebanese researchers, led by Professor Hosam Haik of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Nanotechnology at the Israel Institute of Technology, who made the related publication in the gastroenterology journal “Gut”, according to the BBC and the French Agency.
Larger clinical trials must nevertheless be conducted before the test is applied widely. A large trial is already underway in Europe.
If the research indeed confirms the effectiveness of the NanoNose, then the new method will help in the early diagnosis of stomach cancer, which is important for the patient's progress, as this form of cancer is usually diagnosed late, resulting in a worsening outlook for the cancer patient .The main reason for this delayed diagnosis is that the symptoms of the disease (stomach pain, indigestion, etc.) are often confused with similar symptoms of other diseases.
In this first small clinical trial of NanoNose, scientists analyzed breath samples from hundreds of patients, some of whom had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, while the rest had worrying symptoms (some showed precancerous lesions).
The test managed to distinguish quite well the cancerous samples from the non‑cancerous ones. It also had encouraging results in detecting pre‑cancerous lesions and in distinguishing between those that were low and high risk of developing into cancer. However, the test was not always accurate and some people were incorrectly diagnosed as being at high risk of cancer, without this actually being the case.
Source: Nooz.gr
