A simple breath test could help predict whether people with gut problems are at high risk of developing stomach cancer, an early study shows.
It detects chemical compounds in people's breath, in an attempt to distinguish unique "breath prints" in those with risky pre-cancerous changes.
Experts say if proven in large trials, it could spot patients on the brink of cancer so they can be treated earlier.
But more work is needed to validate the test, which appears in the journal Gut.
In most Western countries stomach cancer is diagnosed late when the chance of survival is poor. This is partly because symptoms - such as indigestion and pain - can be mistaken for other diseases.
Scientists believe earlier detection may help improve the prognosis.
The new "nanoarray" breath test builds on earlier work from researchers in Israel, Latvia and China.
It relies on the idea that people with cancer may have unique breath signatures - containing minute chemical compounds that are not found in the breath of people free from the illness.
Researchers studied breath samples from 145 patients. Around 30 of these were already known to have stomach cancer.
The rest had been referred for investigations because of concerning symptoms. They did not have full-blown cancer - but some had worrying changes that doctors call "pre-cancerous" that could develop into malignancies.
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