Approximately every three minutes, one person in the US is diagnosed with blood cancer, adding up to an estimated 1.7 million people in the States living with or in remission from it today. Since early symptoms can be confused with less serious ailments, and current diagnostic tests are often expensive, invasive, and not widely accessible, a new technology could bring a fresh breath to the process.
According to a recent study conducted by scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and published in HemaSphere, a simple and deep exhale could revolutionize the detection of blood cancer. This first successful demonstration of spotting blood cancer-specific biomarkers in breath samples could lead to a tool that accelerates diagnosis, provides a low-cost alternative, and serves areas with limited access to specialist equipment.
