MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – An international clinical trial is underway to see if the breath can provide clues that could lead to early detection of breast cancer.
Dr. Steven Hochwald, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center is a lead investigator in the trial which is examining organic compounds in the breath.
“It’s quite simple. we’re working with a company and all the patient has to do is breath into this bag a couple of breaths and then we analyze the material in the bag the breath in the bag to look for those organic compounds that might be indicative of breast cancer. we’re comparing a lot of normal patients to patients who have cancer to look at the different signatures that might be present between the two different populations,” Hochwald said.
Data has shown that breath analysis is appropriate for disease screening because it is noninvasive, portable, inexpensive, and easy for patients to accept.
PEDIATRIC PNEUMONIA CASES RISE
An increase in pediatric pneumonia cases has been reported by the CDC.
The infection of the lungs can lead to troubled breathing, fever, cough, chills and fatigue.
Although antibiotics can treat many types of pneumonia experts say avoiding infection in the first place is key.
“The best protection is vaccination. So, we actually have pneumonia shots that protect against a very bad bacterial pneumonia called pneumococcus. But there’s also influenza, influenza causes pneumonia, and you can get your flu shot every year. Covid causes pneumonia. Any child over the age of 6months can get both the flu and the Covid shot,” said Dr. Frank Esper, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist with Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
Esper said if your children’s symptoms don’t improve, or breathing becomes more difficult you should call your pediatrician.