A breath test can detect pancreatic cancer and could mean the disease can be diagnosed at an earlier stage for the first time, say researchers.

The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study and will now be tested in a larger multicenter trial at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and five other London hospitals.

In a proof-of-principle and validation study, researchers analyzed breath samples of 132 patients at St. Mary’s Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and found the test can correctly identify cancer from benign conditions in 81% of patients who had the disease.

Unlike other methods, such as endoscopies, the test is noninvasive. The study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, was led by Imperial College London.

Scientists believe the test could be used to diagnose pancreatic cancer at an earlier stage and screen patients who are most at risk of developing the disease.

Professor George Hanna, lead author of the study at Imperial College London, said:

“We’re in a bleak situation where pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage where little can be done to cure patients. There is a need to develop more effective methods to identify this disease at a much earlier stage. Our breath test could be one of the solutions to tackling this as it can be used as a first-line test on patients who may have non-specific symptoms, or have a family history, so we can direct them to have more specialized tests and offer treatments that can save more lives.”

There are more than 9,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in the UK each year. The disease is caused by the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of the cells in the pancreas. Just 20% of patients survive the disease after a year, falling to 3% after 5 years. In comparison, long-term survival rates for breast cancer are at 90%. Early detection of the disease could improve survival rates.