Using breath analysis as a screening tool to detect gastric cancer: A systematic review.
Ghazal Haddad, Stef Schouwenburg, Ashraf Altesha, Wei Xu, Geoffrey Liu
Abstract
= 3028) involving all technologies reported quantitative results, with sensitivities ranging from 67%-100% and specificities from 71%-98%. The summary sensitivity across six studies utilizing MS-based breath analysis methods was 82.4% (95% CI: 78%-86%); summary specificity was 91.3% (95% CI: 83%-96%). Based on these values, we estimated that screening with MS-based breath tests could lower the number needed to screen (NNS) by more than eight-fold in the 15 countries with the highest prevalence of gastric cancer.Breath analysis is a promising method for gastric cancer detection with good diagnostic performance and potential to decrease the NNS for endoscopy-based gastric cancer detection. However, due to the heterogeneity of breath analysis technologies, rigorous studies with standardized, reproducible methods are needed to evaluate the clinical applicability of these technologies.