A device capable of detecting bronchopulmonary cancer in exhaled air is presented

A device capable of detecting cancer cells by the smell of your breath? This is a somewhat crazy project developed by a European research consortium. This prototype “electronic nose”, which should allow for “several years” to detect cancer of the bronchopulmonary system at an early stage by analyzing the breath of patients, was presented on Tuesday in Lille.

“All human cells release volatile organic compounds” (VOCs) that produce odors. “When an organ becomes cancerous, volatile organic compounds release changes”, “then we are talking about the molecular signature of the disease,” explained pulmonologist Régis Matran during a press conference at the University Hospital of Lille.

“Imagine an electronic nose connected to a mobile phone: people will blow into it” and their doctor will see “a green light meaning no risk of canceror red light”, signaling the need to scan with a scanner, the doctor concluded.

Like sniffer dogs capable of detecting the presence of “breast cancer, like the Curie Institute,” the device is based on sensors “designed to detect certain volatile organic compounds,” he explained. The signal “sent to a remote database” is “analyzed by artificial intelligence” and “made readable” in the interface, detailed Justin Martin, a doctoral student at the University of Liege.

Designed for general medicine

The “first prototype” presented by this scientific coordinator of the European Pathakov project consists of a transparent machine equipped with sensors and equipped with a large blue “nose” to collect human breath. If the nose has proven effective on artificial respiration, it now needs to be tested in a hospital setting on patients, Justin Martin added.

The device will also need to be miniaturized so that it can be tested and deployed. “We hope to provide general medical practice in particular” with the aim of the first “simple, non-invasive” screening of at-risk patients before symptoms appear,” said Professor Arnaud Scherperel, head of the department. thoracic oncology, pneumology at the University Hospital of Lille.

According to CHU, the life expectancy of a patient diagnosed early is 90% within 5 years, versus less than 20% if diagnosed late.

Since 2018, an interdisciplinary team has conducted a study of 750 healthy patients and almost 500 patients with bronchopulmonary cancer to “finely define the olfactory signature” of these pathologies. Delayed due to the Covid-19 epidemic, it will deliver its first results “in early 2023”, in what will be the “largest” study done globally to date.