Gold breathalyzer detects lung cancer early

A sensor made with gold nanoparticles can detect lung cancer in a patient’s breath and may offer a diagnosis before tumors show up on an x-ray, Israeli scientists said on Sunday. The device, which the developers say would be cheap enough for everyday use by family doctors, detected lung cancer with 86% accuracy and may offer a way to screen for a disease not usually diagnosed until it has spread and is no longer curable. It uses sensors based on gold nanoparticles to detect specific compounds, volatile organic compounds in which lung cancer patients have in high levels in exhaled breath. Hossam Haick, one of the scientists working on the sensor, said that he hoped it could soon allow doctors to have a simple test at hand to screen people during routine appointments. “Conventional diagnostic methods for lung cancer are unsuitable for widespread screening because they are expensive and occasionally miss tumors”, wrote Haick.