Mayo Clinic Laboratories is teaming up with Breath Diagnostics to develop new clinical diagnostic tests that use patient breath samples to identify individual biomarkers that can predict a spectrum of diseases. The first collaboration will focus on a diagnostic test that detects lung cancer using patients’ exhaled breath.
Benefits of Biomarkers
Biomarkers are measurable substances that help in predicting the severity of a disease or infection. Examples of a biomarker include an individual’s pulse or blood pressure, or it could be more complex, like certain chemicals that can be detected in blood, tissues or exhaled breath.
Impact of OneBreath Test for Lung-Cancer Detection
In the United States, lung cancer is the leading cause of death related to cancer. Early diagnosis is key to long-term survival. The two organizations will collaborate to develop a breath-analysis test using Breath Diagnostics’ patented OneBreath micro-reactor technology. “This technology will capture specific cancer biomarkers from a single breath,” says Brian Ennis, President, and CEO of Breath Diagnostics. Ennis added, “The test will not expose patients to radiation, and it will provide results in less than 24 hours.”
As part of this collaboration, Mayo Clinic Laboratories will provide mass spectrometry services for the development of the OneBreath test. The proposed OneBreath test for lung-cancer detection addresses an important clinical void by providing a noninvasive, reliable, fast, and low-cost alternative. The test will be used to characterize indeterminate pulmonary nodules and monitor for potential cancer recurrence after surgery.
“Some current lung cancer diagnostic tools can be costly,” adds Ennis. “A CT scan can only identify the presence of suspicious pulmonary nodules, and many patients require repeated follow-up CT and PET scans or other invasive follow-up procedures like needle biopsies. Our technology is noninvasive and will be a lower cost alternative.”
