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The naturally-occurring chemical bicarbonate, used to do baking hot soda, could assist observe malignant neoplastic disease using sensitive scanning, research suggests.

Bicarbonate is involved in the body's reconciliation of acid and alkali.

But cancerous tissue is known to turn it into C dioxide.

The Cancer Research United Kingdom squad establish magnetic resonance imaging scans were able to track alterations in the chemical and therefore place malignant neoplastic diseases even in the very early stages.

Almost all malignant neoplastic disease have a less pH, meaning it is more than acidic than surrounding tissue.

Working with mice, the research workers boosted the magnetic resonance imaging sensitiveness more than 20,000 times, the Nature diary reported.

'Early warning system'

They said such as preciseness could be used to observe tumors and to happen out if malignant neoplastic disease treatments are working effectively at an earlier stage.

Currently, there is no manner to safely measurement differences in pH scale in patients, but spotting these countries of sourness could be used to happen malignant neoplastic diseases when they are very small.

Lead research worker Professor Kevin Brindle, from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge University University Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, said: "This technique could be used as a highly-sensitive early warning system for the marks of cancer.

"By exploiting the body's natural pH scale scale reconciliation system, we have got establish a potentially safe manner of measurement pH to see what's going on inside patients.

Treatment response

"MRI can pick up on the abnormal pH scale degrees establish in malignant neoplastic disease and it is possible that this could be used to nail where the disease is present and when it is responding to treatment."

Using MRI, they looked to see how much of the tagged hydrogen carbonate was converted into C dioxide within the tumour. In more than than acidic tumours, more hydrogen carbonate is converted into C dioxide.

Fellow research worker Dr Ferdia Gallagher said: "Although it's early days, if this technique turns out to be safe and effectual in malignant neoplastic disease patients it have the possible to be a of import tool in detecting malignant neoplastic disease earlier - which is often the cardinal to successful treatment."

Dr Lesley Walker, manager of malignant neoplastic disease information at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's really important that we happen new ways of diagnosing malignant neoplastic disease earlier and happen out if drugs are working well in the body.

"So if clinical trials demo that this technique is as safe and effectual in malignant neoplastic disease patients as we expect, this could be a very utile tool in the early sensing of malignant neoplastic disease and may salvage many lives."