LONDON, June 23 -- A newly developed breath test can help doctors diagnose the early signs of oesophageal and gastric cancer in minutes, according to a report released Tuesday by the Imperial College London.

The test looks for chemical compounds in exhaled breath that are unique to patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer, researchers said. The project was led by Imperial College London.

Researchers analyzed breath samples of 210 patients using the test, and found that the test can discriminate between malignant and benign oesophageal cancer in patients for the first time.

The test is 90 per cent accurate and provides results in minutes, which can take up to four to six hours to process using other methods, according to the report. The test can also be applied to detect gastric (stomach) cancer tumors.

The current method for detecting these cancers is expensive, invasive and a diagnosis is usually made at a late stage and often the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

"Our breath test could address these problems because it can help diagnose patients with early non-specific symptoms as well as reduce the number of invasive endoscopies carried out on patients," said Professor George Hanna, lead author of the study.

Some 400 patients at three UK hospitals will take part in a further trial. The researchers hope to use the findings from the clinical trial to create a sensor device that can signal to clinicians if a patient has a malignant tumor.