Lung cancer: early diagnosis by the composition of exhaled air
Equipment for noninvasive diagnosis of lung cancer has been created and is being tested
sci-lib based on ScienceDaily: Ground-breaking lung cancer breath test in clinical trialSpecialists from the University of Leicester and the Hospital of the City of Leicester are testing a device that allows detecting lung cancer in the early stages of its development.
A clinical study conducted under the guidance of experts from the University of Leicester, dedicated to a new method of diagnosing lung cancer by a breath test, has started at the Glenfield Hospital, Leicester.
I would like to believe that the LuCID program (English Lung Cancer Indicator Detection) will allow us to develop a non-invasive method for diagnosing lung cancer in the early stages of its development. The company behind the development of the device, Oulstone Nanotech Ltd, Cambridge, conducted an economic analysis and found that the detection of lung cancer at an early stage of its development could be increased from the current 14.5% to 25% by 2020. According to experts, this could save 10,000 lives and save 250 million pounds in healthcare.
The proposed device works by detecting low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air exhaled by the patient. This device is a cheaper and more compact alternative to existing technologies.
With the support of the University of Leicester, the Hospital of the City of Leicester, Oulstone received 1 million pounds within the framework of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) program to conduct the 2nd stage of the LuCID project - clinical trials. The purpose of this stage is a practical test of the created developments. To begin with, it is planned to conduct all tests within the walls of the Glenfield Hospital. If successful, the new technologies will be tested in other medical institutions.
According to Billy Boyle (co-founder of "Oulstone"), since there are already proven cancer treatments that can save human lives, we should look for ways to detect the disease earlier; FAIMS technology (from the English Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry, ion mobility spectrometry in an asymmetric field) can be used in the framework of a simple breath test, which is implemented right in the therapist's office.
Clinical trials are already beginning. They are led by Dr. Salman Siddiqui (Salman Siddiqui, an employee of the University of Leicester, a specialist doctor in the field of adult chest diseases). Scientists plan to receive the results of a clinical trial in early 2016.
According to Dr. Siddiq, lung cancer is among the oncological diseases that are characterized by a minimum five-year survival rate; early diagnosis can significantly increase the chances of patients to survive. Existing diagnostic methods, such as X-ray, CT scanning and bronchoscopy, are expensive and carry certain risks. Noninvasive diagnostics – a cheaper alternative – theoretically has a number of advantages over invasive.
"This project is aimed at identifying and evaluating biomarkers in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of respiratory diagnostic methods. We also aim to make FAIMS a faster, less expensive and more mobile alternative to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for use in respiratory diagnostics," the authors of the study write.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru16.02.2015