New Brunswick·New
Doctors in Moncton studying breath samples from breast cancer patients with the goal of earlier detection, especially in women with high breast density.
More than 32,000 Canadians expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year
Hope Edmond · CBC News
· Posted: Jul 30, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago
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Dr. Jocelyne Hébert with the machine that is collecting breath samples of breast cancer patients. The goal is to detect patterns in their breath that can lead to early detection. (Submitted by Vitalité Health Network)
Breast cancer can be challenging to detect in women with dense breast tissue, but researchers in New Brunswick are trying to change that by analyzing compounds in a patient’s breath.
Vitalité Health Network and Moncton-based Breathe BioMedical are conducting the study. It’s the first Canadian site participating in the study, according to a news release from Vitalité.
“Humans, in their breath, have what we call VOCs, so volatile organic compounds,” said Dr. Jocelyne Hébert, who is leading the study being conducted in Moncton.
“Depending on what’s going on in your body … you will express different VOCs and we’re trying to identify a specific pattern of VOCs expressed by patients who have breast cancer.”
The goal is to be able to detect breast cancer earlier and make the breath test another way to screen for breast cancer in addition to a mammogram,
This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/breath-test-breast-cancer-detection-study-9.7289435?cmp=rss
