The gum is designed to measure volatile organic compounds that are produced by the body when cancer invades, indicating if someone has the disease.
A new chewing gum could revolutionise the way we test for cancer by analysing spit for signs of the disease.
If successful, patients may no longer need to undergo blood or urine tests, experts behind the idea say.
The gum will measure specific chemicals in the spit released when a person has cancer.
The gum absorbs what are known as “volatiles” in a person’s saliva as they chew.
It is then analysed to determine if it contains specific chemicals produced in the body when a person has cance.
Katherine Bazemore, chief executive of Volatile Analysis, the company behind the cancer-finding chewing gum, explained how volatile organic compounds are produced by the body when cancer invades.
