"A trial is to assess the effectiveness of a world-first breath test for the disease, which is notoriously hard to spot in its early stages. Pancreatic Cancer UK, which is funding the study, said the launch of the trial was "the most significant step toward a lifesaving-breakthrough in 50 years". Vague symptoms of the disease, including back pain and indigestion, mean the disease is often not detected until it has spread to other parts of the body."
"The test is used to detect a combination of "volatile organic compounds" present in the breath. Thousands of these compounds travel around the bloodstream and are filtered out when the blood reaches the lungs and then expelled out with breath, the charity said. It said these changes are evident even when the cancer is in its earliest stage of disease. Isolating unique combinations of these compounds can pinpoint whether or not a person has pancreatic cancer, with results available for GPs in just three days."
A large clinical trial will assess a breath test that detects volatile organic compounds to identify pancreatic cancer at earlier stages. The test analyzes compounds carried in the bloodstream and expelled in breath; changes in compound combinations can indicate cancer even in its earliest stage. Results could be provided to GPs within three days. The trial will recruit 6,000 patients with unknown diagnoses across 40 sites in England, Wales and Scotland following promising results from a 700-patient study. If effective, the test could be rolled out in GP surgeries within five years to enable earlier treatment.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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