REVEALED: The ultra-sensitive breath test which could detect lung cancer by examining key changes in the air we exhale

An ultra-sensitive breath test could detect lung cancer by analysing chemical changes in the air we exhale, a study suggests.

Researchers have developed tiny sensors that are able to distinguish key changes in the breath of people with the disease.

It has already been established that declines in one exhaled chemical – isoprene – can indicate the presence of lung cancer.

To detect such small shifts, however, a sensor would need to be highly sensitive and capable of detecting isoprene levels in the range of parts-per-billion.

The team, from the Polytechnic Institute of Zhejiang University in China, built on previous attempts and developed tiny ‘nanoflake’ sensors which contain platinum, indium and nickel.

Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers which is largely attributed to lung cancer being diagnosed at a late stage (file image)

Tests showed the sensor responded to isoprene more than any other chemical commonly found in breath, and was able to detect isoprene levels as low as 2 parts per billion – a sensitivity that far surpassed earlier sensors.

To test the device, they exposed it to breath previously collected from 13 people, five of whom had lung cancer.

The device successfully detected isoprene levels lower than 40 parts per billion in samples from the participants with cancer and more than 60 parts per billion from cancer-free participants.

This sensing technology could provide a breakthrough in non-invasive lung cancer screening and has the potential to improve outcomes and even save lives, the researchers said.

Writing in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors they said: ‘This study presents a novel nanoflake isoprene sensor that achieves an exceptionally low limit of detection at 2 parts per billion, the lowest reported for isoprene sensors to date.

‘Notably, it exhibits high selectivity and remarkable anti-humidity capacity, thus meeting the stringent requirements for lung cancer screening.

‘Our work not only provides a breakthrough in low-cost, non-invasive cancer screening through breath analysis but also advances the rational design of cutting-edge gas sensing materials.’

In the UK, around 35,000 people die from lung cancer every year.

Researchers have developed tiny sensors that are able to distinguish key changes in the breath of people with the disease (File image) 

This sensing technology could provide a breakthrough in non-invasive lung cancer screening 

It has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers which is largely attributed to lung cancer being diagnosed at a late stage when treatment is much less likely to be effective.

Treating cancer early improves people’s chance of survival with 60 per cent of people currently surviving stage 1 cancer for 5 years or more and 4 per cent at stage 4.

Last year, the government announced it was rolling out lung cancer screening to people aged 55 to 74 with a history of smoking in a bid to detect cancer earlier and speed up diagnosis.

Current tests can include a chest x-ray, a CT scan and a PET-CT scan.