The technology itself is not new, and researchers across the world have been working on such a breathalyser for several years, the daily Nepszabadsag reported Tuesday.

Ildiko Horvath, the head of university's lung treatment programme said, however, that the device could offer a simple and cheap method to detect cancer early.

'There are a lot of questions - for example how small a tumour it can detect, so far however it has not given a single erroneous positive result,' she told the newspaper.

The device works by searching for 'biomarkers' in human breathe that indicate the potential presence of cancer.

The university has applied for EU funding of 1.5 million euros to test the device on further types of cancer, the paper said.