Sep 10, 2014 06:21 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Italian researchers have discovered a novel indicator of lung cancer.                 

A study by the University of Foggia, Italy, found that the temperature of exhaled breath could be used to diagnose lung cancer. The researchers said that this is a simple and noninvasive method to either confirm or reject the presence of lung cancer.

This is the first study to consider breath temperature as a marker in lung cancer.

For the study, the researchers observed two groups of people who were diagnosed with lung cancer and those who were not. They measured the temperature of exhaled breath of all patients using a breath thermometer device, known as an X-Halo device.

The researchers found that patients diagnosed with lung cancer showed higher breath temperature than those without. The temperature increased relative to the number of years a person had smoked and the stage at which their lung cancer had developed.

"Our results suggest that lung cancer causes an increase in the exhaled temperature. This is a significant finding and could change the way we currently diagnose the disease. If we are able to refine a test to diagnose lung cancer by measuring breath temperature, we will improve the diagnostic process by providing patients with a stress-free and simple test that is also cheaper and less intensive for clinicians," Professor Giovanna Elisiana Carpagnano, lead author of the study, said in a press release.

According to a recent German study, sedentary behaviour increases the risk of colon cancer by eight percent, endometrial cancer by 10 percent and lung cancer by six percent.

"Time spent sedentary displaces light intensity physical activity, causing decreased energy expenditure accompanied by weight gain and obesity, which are related to increased risk of cancer," stated the report. "That sedentariness has a detrimental impact on cancer even among physically active persons implies that limiting the time spent sedentary may play an important role in preventing cancer."

Physical inactivity has been previously linked to diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. People associated with sedentary lifestyle have huge waistline, higher levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and triglycerides.

Graham Colditz, an expert at the Washington University's School of Medicine, said that current life demands less physical activity and more sitting thanks to modern technology.

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