Life-saving breathalyzers that can detect bowel cancer are being tested across the United Kingdom, according to a report in The Sun. The report suggests it will be tested on 8,000 people in NHS hospitals from April 2025.

As part of the test, patients will be asked to blow into a special bag, similar to roadside alcohol testing by police. According to experts, it is less invasive and cheaper than other tests.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told The Sun it would keep families “together for longer.” This is really exciting technology. It is using the very latest testing systems that were not available even a few years ago.” He added, “It avoids having to do very invasive biopsies which are very debilitating.”

The new test can detect molecules in a patient’s breath that indicate they have liver, pancreatic and esophageal cancer. If the trial proves cost-effective, the device will be implemented in healthcare. It is part of the government’s campaign in an effort to use technology to boost cancer detection.

The £118 million fund will be used to create five centers to develop the technologies. Mr Kyle said he was personally inspired after his mother died of lung cancer a decade ago. “We use words like quantum and AI – it sounds far away. But it’s incredibly human,” he said.

This comes after scientists discovered a faster and less invasive way to detect brain cancer than surgical biopsy. A new method that uses just 100 microlitres of blood to run an innovative ‘liquid biopsy’ detects biomarkers associated with glioblastoma – the deadliest and most common type of brain tumor – and gives results within an hour.

This method outperforms all other existing tests and markers for glioblastoma with excellent accuracy. The prototype’s developers – scientists at the University of Notre Dame in the US – say it has “close to turn-key functionality”. The method, developed in collaboration with Australian scientists, is still in its early stages, but this proof of concept is a major step forward in diagnosing brain cancer.

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