First breath test trial for pancreatic cancer

PATIENTS with suspected pancreatic cancer could take a breath test at their GP surgery and get the result in three days after scientists launched a £1.1million trial.

- By Hanna Geissler Health Editor

More than 6,000 people will be recruited — with the hope of making the 30-second test available on the NHS within five years.

It works by detecting changes to the chemicals in a patient’s breath, even in the early stages of the disease when lives can be saved.

Pancreatic Cancer UK, which is funding the research, called it “the most significant step towards a lifesaving breakthrough in 50 years”.

Chief executive Diana Jupp said: “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.”