{"157861":{"#nid":"157861","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Cancer Diagnosis with Breathalyzers Shows Promise","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDiagnosing breast cancer in patients who can\u2019t afford a mammogram is a challenge, which is why researchers are looking into whether a simple breath test could be used instead. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUsing a breathalyzer to diagnose certain cancers would offer patients immediate results,\u201d said Charlene Bayer, a principal research scientist in the Georgia Tech Research Institute who is working with a team from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University on this project. \u201cNot only would this technology allow for easy diagnosis around the world, it could also make it easier to conduct testing for those with a genetic disposition for breast cancer and could make it easier to do follow-up testing following treatment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Bayer\u2019s most recent research, which was presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting on June 2, the breathalyzer was used to establish lung cancer in a sample of 25 women with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 25 women without cancer. Bayer, who developed the breath sampler and analytical method used for both studies, has conducted air research for more than 30 years. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team found 75 unique breath volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) that differed between patients with NSCLC and subjects without the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVery little research has been done when it comes to using breath tests to diagnose breast cancer. So after meeting Winship Researcher Sheryl Gabram, Bayer and Gabram decided to also compare the breath compounds of lung cancer patients with those of patients with breast cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 300 BVOCs in breath samples of 20 healthy women over the age of 40 and 20 women recently diagnosed with stage II-IV breast cancer who had not received treatment were analyzed. The results showed that the breath analysis could determine that the sample came from a cancer patient or a healthy subject 78 percent of the time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe breathalyzer works by trapping chemical compounds and examining them with an analyzer as a patient breathes into it. The researchers\u2019 analysis methodology combines gas chromatography \u2014 a technique for separating complex compounds \u2014 with mass spectrometry, which identifies the chemical makeup of a substance. Specific patterns in the compounds are then found and used to determine whether or not cancer is present.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the primary challenges associated with developing a breathalyzer for this purpose is making the technology as simple as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt needs to be something that can be mass produced, like a syringe,\u201d Bayer said. \u201cThe technology needs to be simple enough so that if someone drops the breathalyzer, it won\u2019t have to be recalibrated.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuture plans for this research include testing the technology on larger populations and analyzing whether the genetic signatures of the 75 differing BVOCs varies based on the stage of the disease. In addition to using the breath tests to diagnose lung and breast cancer, Bayer would eventually like to look into using the breathalyzers to diagnose other cancers.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information about this research, contact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:charlene.bayer@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBayer\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDiagnosing breast cancer in patients who can\u2019t afford a mammogram is a challenge, which is why researchers are looking into whether a simple breath test could be used instead.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Diagnosing breast cancer in patients who can\u2019t afford a mammogram is a challenge, which is why researchers are looking into whether a simple breath test could be used instead."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-09-28 16:42:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:54","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"157811":{"id":"157811","type":"image","title":"Cancer Breathalyzer","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"Cancer Breathalyzer","file":{"fid":"195335","name":"breath.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/breath_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/breath_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1337947,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/breath_0.jpg?itok=pwzy-mMC"}}},"media_ids":["157811"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14455","name":"Breast Cancer"},{"id":"45001","name":"breathalyzers"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"45021","name":"cancer diagnosis"},{"id":"45011","name":"Charlene Bayer"},{"id":"415","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"14906","name":"lung cancer"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}