Breath test may become disease detector

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A breathalyzer can tell if you've had too much to drink, but it could soon also tell if you have a serious health problem.

You may have heard about dogs that can sniff out an illness - either on a person's breath or skin or in a dish in a laboratory. And we have a reliable breath test that can tell whether you're infected with the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. Now, that technology is being taken to the next level - devising breath tests that may be able to diagnose cancer or other disorders like diabetes or liver disease.

Every cell in your body produces byproducts that get into your blood. The blood goes through your lungs, and the lungs act like an exhaust system so you exhale some of those byproducts. Cancer cells make byproducts that other cells don't make, so they may be detectable in the breath.

When you exhale through a mouthpiece into a sensing device, the cancer chemicals may create a specific color pattern that would indicate the disease. There's already a test that's about 80 percent accurate at detecting a type of lung cancer.

They may someday be able to detect breast cancer and several other diseases, but it will be a few years.