A Breath Is Enough To Detect Lung Cancer

Lung cancers are difficult to detect at an early stage. Usually they are diagnosed on the basis of symptoms such as incurable chronic cough, breath shortness, general fatigue, etc. By the time lung cancers can get detected using X - rays, tumors usually have crossed their smallest and most curable state.

In a recent research presented at theEuropean Respiratory Society International Congress in Munich, it has been reported that just by measuring the temperature of the exhaled breath, presence of lung cancers can be detected. For a patient with lung cancer, breath temperature is higher than those who are healthy. This temperature difference is even higher for people suffering from advanced stages of this disease.

This is quite an encouraging news- people with symptoms of lung cancer can take this simple, non- invasive and low cost test to have them diagnosed at an early stage; and time does make a big difference between curable and fatal stages of lung cancer.

Like any research, however, it will take some time before this approach of cancer diagnosis becomes main stream.