Of all cancers, lung cancer is the biggest killer in both men and women. According to the American Lung Association, it causes more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. Diagnosing the disease can involve a number of tests, but scientists have discovered that specific compounds in exhaled breath may be used to diagnose the disease in its early stages.
Researchers from the University of Louisville presented their study at the 50th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Orlando, FL, this week.
Dr. Michael Bousamra and colleagues made the discovery when they were examining patients with "suspicious" lung lesions.
They say they used a silicone microprocessor and mass spectrometer to test exhaled breath of patients with suspected lung cancer for specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known as carbonyls.
These included aldehydes and ketones - organic compounds with carbon double-bonded to oxygen - which are at very low concentrations and produced by the human body.
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