Stomach cancer will be detected in a jiffy
Stomach cancer will be detected in a jiffy
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
RELATED
British
researchers have developed a breath test that can detect oesophageal
and gastric (stomach) cancer in minutes with 90 percent accuracy.
The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study of 210 patients, and will now be tested in a larger trial involving three hospitals in London.
Oesophageal and gastric malignancies account for 15 percent of cancer-related deaths globally.
Doctors diagnose oesophageal and gastric cancers by carrying out an endoscopy. This is a procedure where the inside of the body is examined using a probe with a light source and video camera at the end via the mouth and down the gullet.
However, the procedure is invasive and expensive. Moreover, only two percent of patients who are referred for an endoscopy by GPs are diagnosed with oesophageal or gastric cancer.
"Our breath test could address these problems because it can help diagnose patients with early non-specific symptoms as well as reduce the number of invasive endoscopies carried out on patients, which often lead to negative results," said lead author of the study George Hanna from Imperial College London.
"Diagnosis at an early stage could give patients more treatment options and ultimately save more lives," Hanna noted.
The test looks for chemical compounds in exhaled breath that are unique to patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer.
The cancers produce a distinctive smell of volatile organic compounds (VOC), chemicals that contain carbon and are found in all living things, which can help doctors detect early signs of the disease.
To take the test, patients breathe into a device similar to a breathalyzer which is connected to a bag.
The compounds in their exhaled breath are analyzed by a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometer.
The researchers used breath samples of patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer from 2011 to 2013.
The study was published in the journal Annals of Surgery.
The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study of 210 patients, and will now be tested in a larger trial involving three hospitals in London.
Oesophageal and gastric malignancies account for 15 percent of cancer-related deaths globally.
Doctors diagnose oesophageal and gastric cancers by carrying out an endoscopy. This is a procedure where the inside of the body is examined using a probe with a light source and video camera at the end via the mouth and down the gullet.
However, the procedure is invasive and expensive. Moreover, only two percent of patients who are referred for an endoscopy by GPs are diagnosed with oesophageal or gastric cancer.
"Our breath test could address these problems because it can help diagnose patients with early non-specific symptoms as well as reduce the number of invasive endoscopies carried out on patients, which often lead to negative results," said lead author of the study George Hanna from Imperial College London.
"Diagnosis at an early stage could give patients more treatment options and ultimately save more lives," Hanna noted.
The test looks for chemical compounds in exhaled breath that are unique to patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer.
The cancers produce a distinctive smell of volatile organic compounds (VOC), chemicals that contain carbon and are found in all living things, which can help doctors detect early signs of the disease.
To take the test, patients breathe into a device similar to a breathalyzer which is connected to a bag.
The compounds in their exhaled breath are analyzed by a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometer.
The researchers used breath samples of patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer from 2011 to 2013.
The study was published in the journal Annals of Surgery.
This is what high heels do to your feet
This is what high heels do to your feet
READ MORE
Women|shoes|neuroma|High heels|health
This is what your high heels are doing to your feet (Getty Images)
RELATED
Did
you know that high heels are the culprit behind the rise in the number
of middle aged women experiencing an agonizing foot condition that is
compared to "walking on razors blades?"
Researchers claim that the number of people experience Morton's neuroma, which is a condition that disturbs the nerves running between the toes, has doubled in the past 10 years, reported the Independent.
Moreover, this condition occurs when fibrous tissue develops around a specific nerve in the foot which becomes irritated and compressed and high heels have been blamed for the agonizing foot pain with the largest group of suffers being women aged between 40 and 69.
It is being said that this condition is thought to be brought on from years of wearing high heeled or ill-fitting shoes which push the foot bone against the nerve.
Orthopaedic Andrew Craig said that they have known for a long time that the condition seems to predominantly affect females of a middling age, with speculation that high heels and other such tightly fitting and unnatural footwear.
He added that increasing awareness of Morton's neuroma can only be a good thing, not least because numbness in the foot could be a sign of other, potentially life-altering conditions, such as diabetes.
Craig's research explored how well various treatments for the condition work including, insoles and steroid injections usage.
Researchers claim that the number of people experience Morton's neuroma, which is a condition that disturbs the nerves running between the toes, has doubled in the past 10 years, reported the Independent.
Moreover, this condition occurs when fibrous tissue develops around a specific nerve in the foot which becomes irritated and compressed and high heels have been blamed for the agonizing foot pain with the largest group of suffers being women aged between 40 and 69.
It is being said that this condition is thought to be brought on from years of wearing high heeled or ill-fitting shoes which push the foot bone against the nerve.
Orthopaedic Andrew Craig said that they have known for a long time that the condition seems to predominantly affect females of a middling age, with speculation that high heels and other such tightly fitting and unnatural footwear.
He added that increasing awareness of Morton's neuroma can only be a good thing, not least because numbness in the foot could be a sign of other, potentially life-altering conditions, such as diabetes.
Craig's research explored how well various treatments for the condition work including, insoles and steroid injections usage.
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