The Utility of Breath Biopsy as a Screening Tool for HCC

The Utility of Breath Biopsy as a Screening Tool for HCC: A Pilot Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04326491

Acronym

BrtH-C

Enrollment

Registered

2020-03-30

Start date

2021-06-20

Completion date

2022-05-16

Last updated

2022-05-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cirrhosis, Liver, HCC

Brief summary

The aim of this pilot study is to examine whether there is a discriminating ability of the breath sample analysis to capture biomarkers specific to the HCC in the breath of affected individuals. If positive, our research could open up a new horizon for cost-effective and feasible screening tools.

Detailed description

20 Participants will be included in the study. Ten Cirrhotic patients with HCC and 10 Cirrhotic patients without HCC. The first group is patients with HCC secondary to cirrhosis. The second group will be patients with cirrhosis who are currently on the standard surveillance program with no HCC. Confirmation of the absence of HCC would have been ensured via a recent advanced imaging modality (dynamic CT scan or MRI) in the ongoing surveillance programme. Participants will breathe into either a mouthpiece or collection tube then Breath samples will be analyzed via an analyzer to detect the volatile organic compounds (VOC) and quantitatively compare them

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTBreath Biopsy

Analysis of breath samples to identify volatile molecules specific to HCC

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 80 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Cirrhotic patients with HC. * Cirrhotic patients without HCC

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with more than one primary cancer (HCC in addition to other cancer) * Patients who are not aware of the diagnosis * Patients in whom the diagnosis of HCC is not clear and only suspected * Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or severe asthma.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Volatile organic compounds specific to HCC	6 months	Quantitative analysis of the volume and pattern of volatile compounds in the breath of the individuals with HCC compared to that in the breath of individuals without HCC but with the same underlying disease

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026