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Better cancer screening Lung cancer diagnosed by breathing air?
Lung cancer is still underestimated according to health experts. Since it is estimated that about 85% of the illnesses are related to tobacco use, it is repeatedly pointed out how important it is to give up smoking. Of great importance is also the early detection of the disease. In the future, a new breath test could help here.
Lung cancer is often discovered late
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Europe. This disease is also so dangerous because it is usually recognized late, because lung cancer symptoms are often not noticed. Experts believe that about 85 percent of the diseases are related to tobacco use. Most lung cancer patients die five years after being diagnosed with the disease. A new screening test could simplify the diagnostic procedure.
A simple breath test could in the future help to detect lung cancer at an early stage. According to the developers, the new method has such a high hit rate that it could be used for early detection in everyday clinical practice. (Image: Company V / fotolia.com) Detect disease in the early stages
"Take a deep breath - and exhale again" - this could be a test for lung cancer in the future. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have developed a procedure that can detect the disease at an early stage.
According to a statement from the institute, they examined breath samples for traces of RNA molecules that are altered by cancer growth.
In a study of healthy volunteers and cancer patients, the breath test correctly determined the health status of 98 percent of participants. He should now be developed so that it can be used for lung cancer diagnosis.
More precise than investigations in computer tomography
In the United States, high-risk groups, such as heavy smokers, are routinely examined in computed tomography. However, patients can be wrongly classified as ill.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research have now developed a breath test together with cooperation partners that is much more precise.
The lung cancer diagnosis was correct in nine out of ten cases. Thus, the method has such a high hit rate that it could be used in clinical routine for early detection.
Differences between degenerate and healthy cells
To get their results, the researchers have analyzed RNA molecules that are released from the lung tissue into the respiratory air and that differ between healthy volunteers and lung cancer patients.
In contrast to DNA, RNA is not the same in every cell. From a DNA section, several RNA variants, and thus different proteins can arise. In healthy cells, such variants are present in a certain ratio.
The scientists found that the GATA6 and NKX2 genes produce RNA variants that differ in their amount between degenerate and healthy cells. The cancer cells resemble lung cells in the embryonic stage.
In the journal "EMBO Molecular Medicine" they reported on their results.
Breathing air analysis could simplify the detection of lung cancer
Researchers have developed a method to isolate RNA molecules. These come in the breath not only in small quantities, but often fragmented into small pieces.
They then examined the composition of RNA in subjects with and without lung cancer and used this data to calculate a model for the diagnosis of the disease.
The test identified 98 percent of patients with lung cancer in a test of 138 subjects with known health status. 90 percent of the detected abnormalities were actually cancer.
"Breath-air analysis may make lung cancer detection easier and more reliable in the early stages, but it will not be able to completely replace conventional techniques," said Guillermo Barreto, head of work at the Max Planck Institute in Bad Nauheim.
"However, it can be used as a supplement to better detect early stages of cancer and reduce false-positive diagnoses." The breath test is now to be further developed. (Ad)