A new breath test can help doctors diagnose the early signs of oesophageal and gastric cancer in minutes. The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study, and will now be tested in a larger trial involving three hospitals in London.

Investigators analysed breath samples from 210 patients using the test and found that it can discriminate between malignant and benign oesophageal cancer in patients. The test was shown to be 90% accurate, can provide results in minutes (other methods take up to four to six hours to process), and can also be applied to detect gastric cancer tumours. Economic modelling indicates that the novel assay could save the NHS up to STG£145 million per year, as it’s cheaper, faster and easier to perform than other tests.

Oesophageal and gastric malignancies account for 15% of cancer-related deaths globally. Prognosis depends greatly on the stage of the cancer, but overall is poor, as they tend to be asymptomatic in the early stage and many patients present with an advanced disease.

An international team led by scientists at Imperial College London and clinicians at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust carried out the initial study, which was published recently in the Annals of Surgery. Researchers from UCL (University College London), Keele University Medical School, Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry and Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic were also involved in the study.

Now, 400 patients at UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust will take part in a further trial. The researchers hope to use the findings from the clinical trial to create a sensor device that can signal to clinicians if a patient has a malignant tumour.