(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- The Medical Physics Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Hefei Institute of Physical Science has made a breakthrough in the development of cervical cancer screening, cutting the examination time down to just seven seconds using a breath test.

After testing 13 cervical cancer patients and 34 healthy individuals, the center found that there are four types of ions in the breath mass spectrum that can identify the disease. The tests has a true positive rate (the proportion of positives correctly identified) of 92.3 percent and a true negative rate (the proportion of negatives correctly identified) of 88.2 percent, state-owned China News Service reported on Oct. 23.

Cervical cancer is a common malignant tumor that seriously threatens women's health. More than 500,000 new cases appear globally each year, with Chinese patients making up a third of the figure. The disease is the third-highest incidence cancer among China's young women.

Common methods to screen against cervical cancer include cytological examination and human papillomavirus (HPV), which are invasive and require a longer testing period. Breath testing has been a hot research topic in diagnosis as it is safe, non-traumatic and convenient.