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Breath test for lung cancer Every year in the U.S.A., 99,000 men and 78,000 women develop lung cancer. Only 14% of them are still alive five years later. But if the lung cancer is localized at the time of diagnosis, and treated promptly, the five-year survival rate is increased more than threefold. Consequently, an early screening test has the potential to reduce the death rate from lung cancer. In a pilot study of patients at the Penn State-Geisenger Health System in Hershey, PA and the Imperial College School of Medicine in London, England, we found a combination of 22 breath volatile organic compounds, predominantly alkanes and methylalkanes, was sensitive and specific for lung cancer. We subsequently identified a new comprehensive markers of oxidative stress, the breath methylated alkane contour (BMAC). In a second study, we found that the BMAC was altered in patients with lung cancer, and that the breath test provided an accurate early marker of disease. We are now performing a larger confirmatory study of the breath test with the support of an SBIR Phase II grant award from the National Institutes of Health at these sites:
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York
These findings have been reported in: (PDF Document) Phillips M, Gleeson K, Hughes JMB, Greenberg J, Cataneo RN, Baker L and McVay WP: Volatile organic compounds in breath as markers of lung cancer: a cross-sectional study. Lancet 1999; 353: 1930-33. Commentary Lancet 1999; 353: 1897-98. (PDF Document) Phillips M, Cataneo RN, Greenberg J, Gunawardena R, Naidu A and Rahbari-Oskoui F: Effect of age on the breath methylated alkane contour, a display of apparent new markers of oxidative stress. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine 2000: 136: 243-9. (PDF Document) Phillips M, Cataneo RN, Cummin ARC, Gagliardi AJ, Gleeson K, Greenberg J, Maxfield RA, Rom WN: Detection of lung cancer with volatile markers in the breath. Chest 2003;123: 2115-2123. |