A new method that includes breathing into a breathalyzer-type device to detect cancer is being tested. This is called the Breath Biopsy technology. It may be able detect many kinds of cancer sooner than other tests. This trial is being conducted by researchers from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre with Owlstone Medical- the developers of the Breath Biopsy technology. According to Dr. Nicholas Rohs, “The potential to detect a cancer early through a simple, noninvasive breath test is really exciting.” Despite this optimism, he also states that the technology is far from completed. Though most Americans probably haven’t heard about a “cancer breath test” before, this method has been researched before and it has been found useful to diagnose other health issues.
The breath test works like this: the participant breathes into the device and it analyzes volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The pattern of the VOCs in your breath are different between healthy people and those who have cancer. Some VOC patterns are associated with certain types of cancers, so the test should be able to recognize that and show that there are signs of cancer in the participant.
What advantages/disadvantages do you see to the breath test?
Advantages include earlier results and it can detect many kinds of cancer. Disadvantages are that the method has not been tested much and we don’t know a lot about the reliability.
Do you think that Breath Biopsy technology is the future of cancer screening?
Yes- I think that this technology will lead to more effective and efficient cancer screenings and screenings for other health issues.
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Replies
Well done Lauren!
Adantages of this is that we can see the results faster and easier. Disadvantages is that we don't know how much it will cost to do this procedure...if it's going to cost more or less or about the same. Yes, I think this will be awesome to have because like you said it "will lead to more effective and efficient cancer screenings."
1 - I think that some disadvantages could be that this new method of testing could possibly misread when it is being used and therefore could cause false diagnosings. I also think that an advantage would be a lot more people knowning = a lot more people's lives being saved, even if there could possibly be false readings.
I think that the advantage would be recognizing the cancer faster. I think that a disadvantage could be its accuracy. Yes, I do think that this tech will be used in the future for cancer. And I think it could also se other sicknesses.
Quicker results for less of a cost would definitely be a advantage, but the disadvantage would be that it may not have been as accurate os previous methods. If this actually works, there is no doubt in my mind that this could be the future for cancer screenings.
I agree with what you have to say about the disadvantages of this technology, however, depending on the price of one or multiple uses, I would say the benefits outweigh any possible negatives presented with this device. If proven to work, this device would certainly be the future of cancer screening, as I would decrease the time required from screening to treatment, which may possibe increase the survival for people with this infliction.
I agree with you. I think every technology has disadvantages, but there are soo many researches about cancer and I think every little step is something good. It will take some time until people will trust it or until some new studies are done.
I like your point that it would not only decrease the time required from screening to treatment and that it would allow more people to survive cancer due to earlier treatment.
I think that the Breath Biosy technology is the future of cancer screening because it seems like a very quick and effective way of quickly determining those who have cancer. I also think that it would be beneficial to the patitents because it would eliminate the pain, I guess, or results from a blood test or something.
I never thought about the pain aspect of this screening, but you make a good point! I've never had any type of biopsy done but I've seen the scarring from one and it doesn't look fun.
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