confirmed in larger trials, the test might be a noninvasive way to screen those who are at high risk for stomach cancer, they added.
“Our study is based on the hypothesis that detection of precancerous lesions may provide a tool to decrease either cancer deaths or incidence [of stomach cancer],” said lead researcher Hossam Haick, head of the laboratory for nanomaterial-based devices and volatile biomarkers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.
Stomach cancer develops in a series of well-defined steps, but there is no effective, reliable and noninvasive screening test for detecting these changes early, Haick said. “Most people are diagnosed when it’s too late to save their lives,” he said.
“Currently, there is no perfect noninvasive tool to screen for stomach cancer,” he said. “Small and inexpensive sensing technology could be developed and used to fulfill these clinical needs.”
How it works.
The new test uses nanotechnology that analyzes a set of atoms called nanoarrays. In this case, the array includes atoms from breath samples and the computer looks for