Can a Simple Breath Test Detect Blood Cancer? Study Finds Out - Video

A new study published in HemaSphere by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has shown that molecules exhaled in the breath may help detect blood cancer. The findings could pave the way for the development of a breathalyser-style diagnostic tool that offers a rapid, low-cost, and non-invasive way to identify blood cancers.

Conventional diagnostic methods for cancer diagnosis such as imaging scans or biopsies are expensive and not easily accessible in many parts of the world. A portable breath test could help overcome these limitations and make early detection more widely available.

To explore this possibility, Dr. John Riches and his team at the Barts Cancer Institute used Breath Biopsy®, a breathalyser technology developed by Owlstone Medical. They collected and analyzed exhaled breath from 46 patients with blood cancer and 28 healthy individuals. By using mass spectrometry, the researchers were able to detect tens of thousands of molecular fragments and compare their chemical profiles.

The team discovered that individuals with high-grade lymphoma, an aggressive type of blood cancer, exhaled elevated levels of specific molecules linked to oxidative stress a process involved in cancer development. The researchers suggest this breath-based method could be used to diagnose and monitor blood cancer, particularly in underserved or rural settings.

The team plans to further investigate which lymphoma types are most detectable via breath and refine the method to reduce breath collection time from 10 minutes to just a few seconds.

“Previous studies have shown the value of using breath tests to detect lung cancer. But no one had ever investigated whether blood cancer cells release molecules that pass into the breath, despite the purpose of breathing being to exchange substances between the blood and the breath,” commented Dr. John Riches.

“In future, rather than sending patients away for costly scans and waiting for test results, doctors may be able to conduct a quick breath test in their clinic room and potentially have the results within a few seconds,” said Dr. Riches.

Reference: Stiekema, L.C.A., Chou, H., Craster, A., Wrench, B., Bianchi, K., Gallipoli, P., Davies, J.K., Gribben, J.G. and Riches, J.C. (2025), Analysis of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath of blood cancer patients identifies products of lipid peroxidation as biomarkers for lymphoma detection. HemaSphere, 9: e70168. https://doi.org/10.1002/hem3.70168