Quick test for early diagnosis Breathing air provides information about lung cancer

Lung cancer: diagnosis by breath test

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in Germany. According to health experts, about 45,000 people die from it each year. The disease is also so dangerous because it is usually recognized late. A quick test, which provides the diagnosis by means of breathing air, should contribute to the early detection in the future.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death

Around one in four people in the European Union is dying of cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Europe. According to the Center for Cancer Registry Data, about 45,000 people die each year in Germany alone. Nevertheless, this cancer is still underestimated. The disease is also so dangerous because it is usually diagnosed late. The earlier a tumor is detected, the better the treatment options. A new screening test could simplify the diagnostic procedure.

Lung cancer is usually triggered by smoking. The chance of a cure is greater the sooner a tumor is discovered. A breath test could help with the diagnosis in the future. (Image: Bits and Splits / fotolia.com)

Detect disease in the early stages

It works in a similar way to an alcohol test, in which motorists have to blow in a tube: "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.

Although the early-stage lung cancer test is not yet ready for the market, initial tests have produced good results.

"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 traditional techniques," said Guillermo Barreto, head of the Max Planck Institute in Bad Nauheim.

"However, it can be used as an adjunct to better recognize early stages of cancer and reduce false-positive diagnoses."

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.

Still a long way to the application

Scientists have developed a method to isolate RNA molecules. "These come in the breath not only in small quantities, but often fragmented into small parts," it says in the message.

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.

Barrett said the method should now be tested on more than 2,000 patients in five different lung centers, according to a news agency dpa report. Furthermore, the number of markers should be extended to distinguish different lung cancer types from each other.

According to the news agency Jürgen Wolf of the University of Cologne, an expert in lung cancer diagnostics, the results from Bad Nauheim "exciting".

According to dpa, he emphasized: "Until the application, it is still a very long way." It will be crucial whether the breath test strikes only in advanced lung cancer or even in patients with low tumor burden.

According to Wolf, it is definitely "an approach that should be pursued".

Fourth most common cause of death in Germany

According to the Federal Statistical Office in Germany, lung and bronchial cancer is the fourth leading cause of death. Thus, in 2015, a total of 45,224 people died of it.

"Especially in women, the risk of dying from lung and bronchial cancer has risen sharply in recent years," said Torsten Schelhase from the Destatis department, according to dpa.

A study by an international research team also showed that the lung cancer mortality rate increased among women across Germany.

Previous studies had already shown that the long-term effects of smoking, in particular, are the reason why the number of cancer deaths among women will rise in the future.

"No smoking" protects against cancer

The chance of a cure for cancer is greater the sooner a tumor is discovered. "If this were possible at an earlier stage, up to 70% of patients could survive for five years or more," writes the German Cancer Society on its website.

"However, as early lung cancer causes no discomfort, it is almost always discovered by chance. When symptoms and symptoms are caused by a lung cancer, there is usually an advanced stage of the disease, "it continues.

But unlike other cancers, there are no regular checkups.

Although studies indicate that lung cancer screening can save lives in smokers, it remains controversial. For example, the Cancer Society points to the high number of false positives.

This means that patients are confronted with a suspected cancer, although they are healthy.

For some time other paths have been taken to detect lung cancer earlier. According to Wolf, blood tests are also promising. "There is a lot going on right now," says the expert.

Tests on sputum, the sputum, however, are outdated because they are proven to be useless. "That can be shelved."

A simple and already available option that helps to prevent lung cancer is to give up smoking. (Ad)