"A breath test similar to the one used to determine when a driver has had too much to drink shows promise as a screening tool for cancer https In a new study from Italy researchers were able to identify patients with colorectal cancer https with an accuracy of over  by analyzing samples of their breath. Cancer Breath Test Similar research is under way to develop breathalyzerlike devices to detect lung https breast https prostate https and other cancers. Cleveland Clinic pulmonologist Peter Mazzone MD who is conducting lung cancer https studies says a breath test for cancer https may be a reality in as little as five years if all goes well. But we are still in the research phase and there is still the possibility that this technology will never prove clinically useful he says. There is still quite a bit of work to be done. Mazzone says the breath functions in the body in much the same way that the exhaust system functions in a car and what comes out gives a sense of how things are working inside. A persons breath contains a variety of chemical compounds and it has long been recognized that certain illnesses can affect how the breath smells. Continue Reading Below People with poorly controlled diabetes https for example may have breath that smells fruity due to an overproduction of chemicals called ketones https people with kidney https or liver failure https can have fishy breath. The lung cancer https device Mazzone is testing called an electronic nose sensor changes color based on the chemicals in the breath. Chemicals Consistent With Cancer In the Italian study researchers used a different technology to analyze the chemical makeup https of breath from  people with colorectal cancer https and  people without cancer https Researchers from the University Aldo Moro of Bari were able to identify a chemical pattern that was consistent with colorectal cancer. By identifying this chemical fingerprint in the breath they were able to distinguish between the cancer and noncancer patients  of the time in a test designed to hide the health status of the participants. The technique of breath sampling is very easy and noninvasive although the method is still in the early phase of development researcher Donato F. Altomare MD says in a statement. The study was published online today in the British Journal of Surgery."