Scientists say they have fashioned a new test that can detect lung cancer simply on the basis of a tumor-causing change in the odor of bodily fluids.

The finding is so far based solely on work with mice, but follow-up studies are underway to see if this novel approach could aid in the early diagnosis of lung cancer in humans.

“But this work already proves, at least in principle, that tumors — in this case lung cancer tumors in mice — result in a change in odors that ought to be useful for diagnostic purposes,” observed senior study author Gary K. Beauchamp, a biologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

Lawrence Garfinkel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society who helped design landmark studies that linked smoking to lung cancer, died Thursday in Seattle. He was 88.

The cause was cardiovascular disease, his son Martin said.

Mr. Garfinkel became a leader in cancer epidemiology despite having no formal education in the field. His college degrees were in statistics: a bachelor’s from the City College of New York and a master’s from Columbia.

Results from two early phase clinical trials suggest that patients with advanced lung cancer may have new treatment options that improve their survival. The results were reported recently at the AACR-IASLC Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer in Coronado, CA.

The findings, said Dr. Paul Bunn of the University of Colorado and a leading expert on lung cancer treatment, are part of an encouraging trend. “Almost every year now we’re getting new drugs that improve survival in lung cancer patients,” he said during a press briefing. “But we have a long way to go.”

Earlier this month, researchers from science and public health organizations in China and the United States, including NCI, met in Guangzhou, China, to discuss specific research goals and possibilities for collaboration in cancer epidemiology, environmental monitoring, and tobacco control, and how to foster translational research in these areas.

“The meeting focused on adult lung and childhood cancers,” explained Dr. Gary Ellison, an epidemiologist in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), who led the development of the scientific meeting agenda for NCI. He noted that in addition to the scientific presentations, representatives from Chinese and U.S. funding agencies presented existing mechanisms to support new collaboration in the scientific areas addressed at the meeting. While NCI has supported several China-related research projects, he explained, this workshop will help define scientific priorities related to environmental pollution and cancer with the goal of expanding and creating additional opportunities for mutual scientific cooperation.

Quitting smoking after being diagnosed with lung cancer can prolong life and reduce the risk of a cancer recurrence or the development of a new lung cancer, according to research published online ahead of print in the British Medical Journal.

New animal research from scientists at the Monell Center and collaborators demonstrates that body fluid odors can be used to identify animals with lung cancer tumors. The findings set the stage for studies to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers in the urine of human lung cancer patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, responsible for 1.3 million deaths annually. Effective techniques for early diagnosis are urgently needed, as the disease often has no early signs or symptoms.

L.A. Theatre Works will take the stage at Stanford this week. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Stanford’s Pigott Theater, the cast of their radio play RFK: The Journey to Justice will participate in a discussion hosted by the Aurora Forum’s Mark Gonnerman as part of the Art + Invention series. On Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 8 p. m. in Dinkelspiel Auditorium, the company will perform the West Coast premiere of the play…

Directed by John Rubinstein, the production will feature stage and screen actors Henry Clarke as RFK, Kevin Daniels as Martin Luther King, Lynn Wactor as Coretta Scott King and Philip Casnoff as John F. Kennedy. RFK: The Journey to Justice was co-commissioned by Lively Arts in honor of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation with generous support from Van and Eddi Van Auken.

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. (OTCBB: BMOD) (www.biomoda.com) today applauded Nebraska State Sen. Bob Krist and his co-sponsors for introducing legislation to screen up to 500 Nebraska veterans for early-stage lung cancer.

“The Nebraska Legislature has taken another step toward saving lives,” said Biomoda President and CEO John Cousins. “Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer killer, primarily because it is too difficult and too expensive to diagnose in its earliest stages when it is most treatable.”

One out of 14 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer during their lifetime. Unfortunately only 16 percent will survive, because the majority will be diagnosed too late, when the cancer has already spread beyond the lungs. Lung cancer remains the country’s number one cancer killer. It is expected to take the lives of more than 160,000 Americans this year, more than prostate, breast, melanoma, liver and kidney cancers combined.

ETHERAL BEAUTY and hollywood icon Jean Simmons passed away on Friday at the age of 80 due to lung cancer as per her agent Judy Page. The actress had in her heydays captured the imagination of many as she starred opposite famous actors like Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier and Paul Newman.