Discovery: bees can detect lung cancer

Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that bees can detect biomarkers associated with lung cancer in human breath. This ability to identify specific chemical compounds could revolutionize early screening methods for this disease.


Animals with a developed sense of smell, such as dogs, are often used to detect various substances. Insects, particularly bees, also possess an extremely sensitive olfactory sense. Their antennae can react to numerous chemical compounds, a crucial ability for locating flowers, detecting pheromones, and identifying intruders in their hive.

The team led by Debajit Saha wondered if bees could also identify chemical signatures associated with cancerous tumors. They developed two synthetic breath mixtures: one replicating that of a healthy person, the other imitating the breath of a patient with lung cancer using compounds like trichloroethylene and 2-methylheptane.

The researchers then equipped about twenty bees with tiny electrodes to measure variations in their brain activity in response to these odors. The bees showed no reaction to the healthy samples. However, when exposed to volatile compounds associated with cancer, intense neural activity was observed, even at very low concentrations, in the order of one part per billion.

Building on these results, the teams then tested the bees with human lung cell cultures, including healthy and cancerous cells. Once again, the bees not only reacted to the tumors but also distinguished different lung cancer cell lines, an important differentiation for the clinical treatment of various forms of the disease.

Autumn McLane-Svoboda, a member of the research team, emphasizes: "What is astonishing is the bees' ability to not only detect cancer cells but also distinguish between different lung cancer lines." This discovery paves the way for the creation of non-invasive detection tests based on breath analysis, similar to breathalyzers, offering a promising alternative to biopsies. These tests could significantly improve survival rates by enabling early diagnosis of the disease. The full results of this study have been published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.