A Breathalyzer That Can Diagnose Cancer

When someone says ‘I need you to take a Breathalyzer test,’ we normally think that someone has had a little too much to drink. But what if it came to mean something different?

A new study by Dr. Raed Dweik of Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Institute suggests that the future might hold breath-testing devices for diseases rather than just alcohol. As it turns out, a person’s breath is not just what is in their lungs, but rather connected to anything in the body that is eventually in the bloodstream. Diseases like lung cancer, liver disease, heart disease and asthma all have distinct signatures that can be measured in the breath.

Breath tests are just as accurate as other forms of diagnosis, but unlike others, the tests may be repeated as many times as necessary at a lower cost or lower safety.

See the full story at theatlantic.com