Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) affects around 2000 patients in the UK every year. It is often detected at an advanced stage, resulting in poor overall survival (5-year survival less than 20%). Early detection can improve 5-year survival to over 70%, however early detection of OSCC is challenging for many reasons. Firstly, early disease symptoms are non-specific, which patients often overlook. Secondly, ‘Alarm’ symptoms such as weight loss or difficulty swallowing are signs of advanced stage, and thirdly there are no national screening guidelines. Furthermore, endoscopy is currently the only available test to detect OSCC, however it is invasive, expensive, and uncomfortable for patients.

Developing a breath test would provide an ideal triage test for patients with non-specific symptoms as it is non-invasive, simple to perform, cost-effective and highly acceptable to patients. The breath test is based on identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released in breath. General Practitioners could offer the test to patients with non-specific symptoms, and those who test positive would be referred for an urgent endoscopy, whilst those who test negative could be reassured or offered re-testing at a later stage.