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Pharmacists at the University of Huddersfield are developing a 'breathalyser' to detect very early signs of lung cancer. For example, people who visit their local pharmacy seeking help to quit smoking €could take this quick and simple test€, they say.

€The intention is that we will catch patients before they start getting the symptoms. Once lung cancer patients start experiencing symptoms, [the cancer] is often very advanced and has a very low cure rate,€ says Dr Rachel Airley, the University of Huddersfield lecturer who developed the project, which detects chemical biomarkers.

The project received £105,000 from Dr Philip Brown of the SG Court Group, a pharmacy chain in South-East England, which will host initial trials. The University provided matching funding for the three-year project.

€When you get certain chemicals in someone's breath, that can be a sign that there is early malignancy,€ says Dr Airley. €We are looking to be able to distinguish between patients with early lung cancer and patients who have maybe got bronchitis, emphysema or non-malignant smoking-related disease ... or who may have just got a cough.€