Breath and urine tests more accurately detect breast cancer, say researchers

Israeli technology for detecting early breast tumors

On the monitor is an image of a woman infected with breast cancer.

A screening method that detects breast cancer more accurately and earlier by identifying biomarkers was developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center.

Biomarkers are determined using two electronic nasal breathing gas sensors and gas chromatography mass spectrometry to quantify the substances in the urine.

A new technology using commercially available technology has just been published in the journal Computers in Biology and Medicine.

"Survival in breast cancer is highly dependent on the sensitivity of tumor detection; accurate methods for detecting smaller and earlier tumors remain a priority", says Professor Yehuda Zeiri of the BSU Department of Biomedical Engineering. "Our new approach using urine and exhaled air samples - analyzed with inexpensive, commercially available systems - is noninvasive, affordable and can be easily implemented in a variety of settings".

The dangers of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women and the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2016, breast cancer accounted for 29% of all new cancer cases detected in the United States and 14% of all cancer-related deaths.

Mammograms, which have been shown to significantly reduce breast cancer mortality, are not always able to detect small tumors in dense breast tissue. In fact, the typical sensitivity of mammography, which is 75-85% accurate, is reduced to 30-50% in dense tissue.

Current diagnostic imaging techniques for detecting small tumors have significant drawbacks; dual-energy digital mammography, although effective, increases the radiation load, and magnetic resonance imaging is expensive. Biopsy and serum biomarker detection are invasive and require a lot of equipment and expertise.

"We have now shown that inexpensive commercial electronic noses are sufficient to classify cancer patients in the early stages", Zeiri said. "With further study, it may also be possible to analyze exhaled air and urine samples to detect other types of cancer".