Ten-minute breath test that can detect breast cancer: New kit is as accurate as X-rays and reduces need for mammograms



BreathLink is being developed by US firm and is already on sale in Europe



It is hoped it will lead to more woman coming forward for testing

Almost 50,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year

Scientists have developed a breath test to check for breast cancer.

Research shows the kit is at least as accurate as breast X-rays routinely used in hospitals. It takes less than ten minutes to detect the disease and its makers say it may reduce the need for uncomfortable mammograms.

By taking the embarrassment out of the procedure, it could also lead to more woman coming forward for testing, saving lives.

Breakthrough: Scientists have developed a breath test for breast cancer (file picture)

It would also mean that women aren’t exposed to radiation during testing. Breast cancer is Britain’s most common cancer, with almost 50,000 women diagnosed a year.

It is the second biggest cancer killer among women after lung cancer, claiming almost 1,000 lives a month.

However, the number of women who have three-yearly mammograms is falling, amid concerns that the breast X-rays cannot distinguish dangerous cancers from ones that grow too slowly to ever cause harm.

The BreathLink kit is being developed by a US firm and is already on sale in Europe. It begins with a woman breathing for two minutes into a breathalyser.



The air is fed into a machine which analyses the levels of chemicals. The results are crunched by a computer, which determines whether the chemical pattern is a sign of breast cancer.



Research published in the journal PLoS ONE shows it to be at least as accurate as mammograms.

Michael Phillips, a professor of medicine at New York Medical College, and the brains behind the breath test, said: ‘We know that if you get a negative result on the breast test, there is a better than 99.9 per cent chance that a woman doesn’t have breast cancer.

Makers of the new test say it may reduce the need for uncomfortable mammograms

‘That is the key thing, because in any screening programme, the overwhelming majority of women who come in off the street do not have breast cancer.

‘Eventually, the physician and the woman might decide that she doesn’t need to go on to have a mammogram.’



This means, the vast majority of women may not need to undergo the trauma of a mammogram.

The accuracy for actually spotting the disease is lower and so women who have a positive breath test will still need a mammogram.

The test, which is being developed by Dr Phillips’ firm Menssana Research, is already on sale in Europe.

However, Dr Phillips stresses that bigger studies are needed before it becomes the first choice for breast cancer screening.

He added: ‘I am optimistic that in years to come, people will start to look at a breath tests as a global test.

‘Something that can be used to screen for many different diseases – different cancers and different infections.

‘Eventually, breath testing will become as mainstream as blood tests and urine tests.’



British experts described the research as exciting but early days.

Martin Ledwick, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘This is a small pilot study for an interesting idea.



‘But much more research is needed before we know if this test could be considered safe alongside breast screening.

