Breath test for colorectal cancer diagnosis?

Researchers use breath test for colorectal cancer screening

06.12.2012

Colorectal cancer could possibly be reliably diagnosed in the future using a breath test. The previously required for diagnosis unpleasant and possibly quite painful colonoscopy could be avoided in this way. In a recent study using gas chromatography / mass spectrometry, Italian researchers have analyzed cancer patients' breath samples and identified certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can diagnose a colorectal cancer.

As reported by the Italian research team around Donato Altomare of the University of Aldo Moro in Bari (capital of the Apulia region), the colorectal cancer diagnosis was quite successful with the help of the electronically evaluated breath test. In 75 percent of the cases the correct diagnosis was made. The „Respiratory VOC analysis seems to have potential for clinical use in colorectal cancer screening“, the scientists write in the journal „British Journal of Surgery“. However, a diagnostic accuracy of just over 75 percent is not enough to make a reliable medical statement regarding possible colorectal cancers.

Breath test with diagnostic accuracy of 76 percent
In their study, the Italian researchers first analyzed the breath samples of 37 cancer patients and 41 healthy controls to identify VOC profiles that could indicate an underlying colorectal cancer. The of „Patients with colorectal carcinoma and healthy controls exhaled air was collected in a bag (Tedlar®) and thermal desob gas chromatography-mass spectrometry“ used to determine the VOC profiles, the scientists report. After identifying the colorectal cancer-typical VOC in the first trial period, the researchers tested the new colorectal cancer diagnostic procedure on 25 cancer patients, with the breath test detecting colorectal cancer in 19 cases. This corresponds to a diagnostic accuracy of 76 percent, write Altomare and colleagues. Why the VOC in colon cancer patients clearly differ from healthy people, remains open so far. The underlying biochemical processes are still unclear.

Improve cancer screening through breath tests?
The diagnostic technique already proven in other cancers (for example lung cancer) „The breath sample is very simple and non-invasive, "said Donato Altomare, explaining the benefits of the new procedure. „The availability of an effective and reliable colorectal cancer screening tool is of paramount importance in healthcare“, the Italian researchers continue. Colon cancer is the most common tumor disease in Europe, behind lung and breast cancer. In Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute, around 65,000 people fall ill each year. Simple, reliable early detection would significantly reduce the risk of fatal disease progression here. However, the scientists acknowledged that a diagnostic accuracy of 76 percent is not enough and further studies are needed to improve the procedure. The more respiratory samples of colorectal cancer patients are analyzed, the more accurate the VOC profiles that typically occur in those affected can be narrowed down, which contributes to improving the accuracy of the procedure, the Italian researchers conclude. (Fp)

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Image: Dieter Schütz