Breath temperature test may help diagnose lung cancer

Doctors may be able to diagnose lung cancer by gauging the temperature of exhaled breath.

A new study presented to the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress analyzed the breath temperature of 82 people who had been referred to a full diagnostic test after an X-ray suggested the presence of lung cancer.

Using a breath thermometer device called an X-Halo, researchers found that the 42 patients found to have lung cancer recorder a higher breath temperature than those without cancer. The study also found temperature increased with the number of years a person smoked, and the stage at which their lung cancer developed, FoxNews reported.

“Our results suggest that lung cancer causes an increase in the exhumed temperature,” said Giovanna Elisiana Carpagnano, a lead author of the study and professor at University of Foggia, Italy.

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