A breathalyzer test may be able to detect the early stages of lung cancer, according to a recent study.

A new device developed by a team of Israeli, American, and British cancer researchers may turn the tide by both accurately detecting lung cancer and identifying its stage of progression. It is embedded with a "NaNose" nanotech chip to literally "sniff out" cancer tumors.

Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast, and pancreatic). Poor detection is the reason for the striking mortality rate, according to researchers.

"Lung cancer diagnoses require invasive procedures such as bronchoscopies, computer-guided biopsies, or surgery," Nir Peled of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine said in a statement. "Our new device combines several novel technologies with a new concept -- using exhaled breath as a medium of diagnosing cancer."

For the study, researchers recruited more than 350 patients who were either diagnosed with or at risk for lung cancer. The participants enrolled at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Tel Aviv University, University of Liverpool, and a Jacksonville, Florida, radiation center.

The breathalyzer and subsequent analysis accurately sorted healthy people from people with early-stage lung cancer 85 percent of the time, and healthy people from those with advanced lung cancer 82 percent of the time. The test also accurately distinguished between early and advanced lung cancer 79 percent of the time.

"The device could prove valuable in helping determine patients who need more intensive screening for lung cancer," Peled said. "We're hoping to have a device that would be able to give you a go/no-go result -- something's wrong, go get an X-ray."

The findings were recently presented at a recent American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago.