Lung-cancer test could detect biomarkers in exhaled air

Developed by scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, and the University Clinic of Leipzig, the new procedure could obviate the need for patients with a suspected tumour to undergo an X-ray examination or a bronchoscopy.

The latter method often involves the irritation of the lung or removal of tissue samples, which is uncomfortable for the patient undergoing the procedure.

‘Since 2006, working with the working groups of Prof Hubert Wirtz and Prof Ulrich Sack of the University Clinic, we first identified various biomarkers that are particularly well suited for the identification of lung-cancer cells,’ said Dr Jörg Lehmann, head of the Cell Engineering/GLP Unit at IZI. ‘The main difficulty lies in finding a reliable way to distinguish cancer from chronic inflammatory disease.’

The researchers have developed a laboratory method for reliably identifying biomarkers specific to lung cancer in special samples of exhaled air.

To accomplish this, the patient must breathe into a piece of equipment for roughly 20 minutes. The exhaled breath condensate is then evaporated.