Through identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) it is intended that the SpiraCheck algorithm will be able to rule-out gastrointestinal and other cancers through one test.  

SpiraCheck is a spin-out from Imperial College, London and the work of Professor George Hanna and his team. This ongoing research has already resulted in several patents being licensed to SpiraCheck. Six clinical biomarker discovery trials have been completed (n=2,352; 580 with cancer) and ten more grant-funded clinical trials are in progress (>30,000 patients), all led by the Imperial team.

The SpiraCheck test is set to improve the five-year relative survival for gastro-intestinal cancers by increasing the rate of early detection. At the same time, the test should decrease the number of invasive diagnostic tests through better prioritisation, thereby reducing the financial burden of healthcare systems. There is also significant potential for use of the test in objective cancer treatment effectiveness scoring, whereby disease is tracked alongside new and existing treatments.

The work of the Hanna Group has resulted in numerous publications.