A 30-SECOND breath test to detect pancreatic cancer could be rolled out to GPs within five years.
The “highly-promising” tool could save thousands of lives and is being trialled on the NHS with 6,000 patients taking part.
The test has been developed by scientists at Imperial College London, who say it can detect pancreatic cancer with a high degree of accuracy – even when the disease is at an early stage.
Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the UK, with around 10,800 people diagnosed every year, according to Pancreatic Cancer UK.
The disease is often referred to as the deadliest common cancer, as more than half of people dying within just three months of their diagnosis.
It often doesn’t cause symptoms in the early stages and, when symptoms do appear, they can be vague, making the cancer hard to diagnose until it has progressed.
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In fact, more than 80 per cent of patients are not diagnosed until after the cancer has spread.
And there are currently no early detection tests to help doctors decide who to refer for hospital scans.
Pancreatic Cancer UK hailed the breath test as “the most significant step toward a lifesaving breakthrough in 50 years”.
Getting patients access to scans and life-saving treatment could be as simple as breathing into a bag at a GP appointment, the charity claimed.
The test uses breath samples collected in as little as 30 seconds and scans them for telltale chemicals produced by people with pancreatic cancer.
These are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which travel through the bloodstream before being filtered out when the blood reaches the lungs and exhaled.
People with cancer produce specific ones, which are detectable in the breath, even in early stages of disease.
Once the sample is acquired, scientists said GPs could have the results back within three days.
Researchers say the test is quick and non-invasive, and could be cost-effective to the NHS if used by GPs and pharmacies by streamlining the referral process.
They hope it could be in the hands of GPs in five years time.
Diana Jupp from Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “The breath test has the potential to revolutionise the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
“It is the most significant step toward a lifesaving-breakthrough in 50 years.
“While more years of development are still needed before we can put this exciting new technology into the hands of GPs across the country, thousands of patients with an unknown diagnosis will now help refine it in the real-world.
“This is the first pancreatic cancer breath test to ever reach a national clinical trial of this scale.
“That in itself makes this a moment of real, tangible hope.”
Around 40 hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales are signed up to participate in the trial, though more could be added.
Patients thought to have cancer will be recruited from the NHS Urgent Suspected Cancer Pathway – under which patients should receive an appointment within two weeks of a GP referral.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages.
As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it hard to diagnose, according to Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Common symptoms include:
- Indigestion – a painful, burning feeling in your chest with an unpleasant taste in your mouth
- Tummy or back pain – it may start as general discomfort or tenderness in the tummy area and spread to the back, which get worse lying down and feel better is you sit forward
- Diarrhoea and constipation – see a GP if you have runny poos for more than seven days, especially if you’ve lost weight as well
- Steatorrhoea – pale, oily poo that’s bulky, smells horrible and floats, making it hard to flush
- Losing a lot of weight without meaning to
- Jaundice – yellow skin and eyes, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
The study, being funded by Pancreatic Cancer UK, is expected to be the final step before researchers can apply for regulatory approval and get the test adopted by the NHS.
It follows a two-year clinical study, in which scientists analysed over 700 breath samples from people with and without pancreatic cancer and other conditions affecting the pancreas.
Professor George Hanna, who is leading the project, believes their initial findings are “a very promising step forward for patients affected by pancreatic cancer”.
Prof Hanna, head of the department of surgery and cancer at Imperial College London, said: “If our findings from the initial phase of the breath test study can be validated in a population of patients with an unknown diagnosis, it has huge potential to influence clinical practice and pancreatic cancer referral pathways.
“We look forward to seeing how the test performs in this group of patients with suspected cancer.”
His ultimate aim is to develop a breath test able to detect and distinguish between a number of different gastrointestinal cancers.
Buying more time
Andrew Palmer, 55, has felt the heart-breaking consequences of a late pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
His wife Jen began experiencing stomach pain and indigestion in April 2023 and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Over the following months she visited her GP several more times, as well as Urgent Care, and was given several medications, blood tests, a gastroscopy, and a CT scan of her urinary tract.
Jane was rushed to hospital in February 2024, where she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver.
She died just over a month later, aged 50, leaving behind Andrew and their four children.
Andrew, from Oswestry, said: “Most people who receive a pancreatic cancer diagnosis right now need to count the days, not the months.
“Jen had so many different tests: blood tests, scans, endoscopies, but it didn’t pick up the cancer.
“She was diagnosed too late and was too physically weak for chemotherapy to have given her more time.
“The brutality of the disease can’t be understated. There are no options at late stages.
“There must be hope for those who will go through this in the future.
“If there had been a breath test, perhaps that would have been performed when she first presented with symptoms.
“She may have been eligible for treatment, at least giving her more time.
“Jen thought she had time and had planned things to do for the kids. We had no idea how little time we had left with her.”
