Last Updated: 2003-05-19 17:00:15 -0400 (Reuters Health)

SEATTLE (Reuters Health) - A novel "electronic nose" shows promise for sniffing out lung cancer, a new study suggests.

If the biosensor pans out in future trials, it could offer a fast, non-invasive way of detecting the number-one cancer killer in the United States, researchers said.

Known as the Cyranose, the device picks up the scent of certain compounds exhaled in the breath of lung cancer patients, according to the team led by Dr. Roberto F. Machado, a fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

In a study of 59 people, the electronic nose was able to distinguish between those who had lung cancer and those who did not, Machado reported here at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

Cyranose takes advantage of the fact that human breath contains a mixture of hundreds of volatile chemicals. In a person with lung cancer, there is a distinct mixture of these chemicals that is high in alkanes and benzene derivatives.

When a person breathes into the device, dozens of sensors go to work, hunting down any chemicals that are present and generating a "smellprint" that can be seen on a video display monitor.

Machado tested whether the device could detect lung cancer on the basis of its smellprint in 14 people with lung cancer, 25 with other lung disorders and 20 healthy people.

"The person just blows out and the device analyzes their breath," Machado said.

The pattern produced by the lung cancer patients showed a distinct pattern that was different from that produced by either the other lung disease patients or healthy people, he reported.

But the differences were small, the researchers said, and further refinement to improve the sensitivity of the nose for sniffing out lung cancer is needed before proceeding to larger trials.

Nevertheless, the Cyranose is a "promising, exciting technology," said Dr. Constance Jennings of the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved with the study.

"It might allow for earlier diagnosis of lung cancer patients," she told Reuters Health. "And it's well established that the earlier you find a lung cancer, the more treatable it is."

The device could also potentially be used to monitor lung cancer patients undergoing treatment for disease recurrence, Machado said.

Cyranose is made by Cyrano Sciences of Pasadena, Calif., which helped fund the trial.