£10 breath test for pancreatic cancer could save thousands in what experts call ‘biggest breakthrough’

A breath test to detect pancreatic cancer has been hailed as the “biggest breakthrough in 50 years”.

The cancer, which has claimed the lives of celebrities such as Alan Rickman, Aretha Franklin and Patrick Swayze, is often recognized late, with only seven percent of those diagnosed surviving five years or more.

But experts say thousands of lives a year could be saved by a breath test that detects molecules made by tumors.

The test, which is carried out using a breathalyzer in a general practitioner’s office, was developed by researchers at Imperial College London.

The study, the results of which were published in the British Journal of Surgery, tested 64 patients.

The test, which was carried out using a breathalyzer (pictured) in a general practitioner’s office, was developed by researchers at Imperial College London

The test canceled 81 percent of those with pancreatic cancer.

The test costs just around £10 per patient and will soon be tested on 700 people.

According to a ten-year study through 2010, 91 percent of people with pancreatic cancer made repeat visits to their family doctor with symptoms at least two years before their diagnosis.

dr Chris Macdonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, which has invested more than £650,000 in the test, said: “The GP can’t refer everyone with vague symptoms related to pancreatic cancer…because the vast majority of people with these symptoms don’t have pancreatic cancer, and the healthcare system would be overwhelmed.

“But this cheap, quick breath test … could diagnose people much sooner and save thousands of lives a year.”

“It’s the most important potential development in pancreatic cancer in the last 50 years – we really are on the verge of a breakthrough.”

The test detects esophageal cancer and is being worked on for colon cancer.

All of these cancers could be tested at the same time with the same breathalyzer.

The test could cut the figure of 80 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who receive an incurable diagnosis.

Almost 10,500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year. More than half die within three months.

Health Secretary Helen Whately said: “The sooner we get cancer, the more likely we are to beat it.

“That’s why breath tests like these could be such an important breakthrough — helping thousands get a potentially life-saving early diagnosis.”

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