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A research team from the UK came up with a breathing test that is boasts 85 percent accuracy in identifying stomach and esophageal cancer. Scientists aim to help doctors avoid unpleasant medical procedures.

Stomach and oesophageal cancer are deadly illnesses that affects approximately 20,000 people every year. It is usually diagnosed too late, lowering the chance of survival of diagnosed patients. But scientists hope the device can help spot symptoms early on and result in more effective treatment to save lives.

The new breathing test developed by scientists is expected to help doctors avoid endoscopy examinations that sometimes can be unnecessary for patients. The unpleasant and lengthy medical procedure requires a flexible endoscope that is inserted down the throat and into the stomach.

"At present the only way to diagnose oesophageal cancer or stomach cancer is with endoscopy. This method is expensive, invasive and has some risk of complications," said Dr Sheraz Markar, researcher from Imperial College London.

The breathing test on the other hand is fast and safe. It does not pose any risk or harm during testing. It can help early diagnosis and treatment to increase chances of survival. This new testing method can measure parameter of several substances that are produced during breathing.

Express reported 6,682 people in the UK are diagnosed each year with stomach cancer, where 4,576 die from the disease. Oesophageal cancer showed 8,919 new cases per year and 7,790 deaths.

According to Stock News USA, the researchers collected breathing data from 335 patients from three British hospitals. There were 163 who were previously diagnosed with stomach or throat cancer and 172 did not show any symptoms or illnesses.

Five substances, Butyric, Hexane, petaloid acids, decanol and butanol were measured. The positive results were presented during the European Cancer Congress meeting in Amsterdam. It correctly identified patients suffering from cancer with no false diagnosis.

The researchers plan to proceed with several tests in the next three years including patients that are not yet diagnosed with cancer. The team is working on other breathing tests to help reveal other types of cancer affecting the bowel and pancreas.