Japanese and American researchers have developed medical technology that quickly detects various cancers via a saliva test, AFP reports.

Researchers from Keio University and the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed saliva samples from 215 people, including cancer patients. They identified 54 substances that can be used to detect cancer if present, according to the international news agency.

By examining the substances, they were able to detect 99 percent of the pancreatic cancer cases, 95 percent of breast cancer cases and 80 percent of oral cancer cases among the participants.

This new technology would take half a day to test for cancer and can identify up to 500 different substances found in the saliva, said Tomoyoshi Soga, of Keio's Institute for Advanced Biosciences, in a statement. This would make it easier to detect pancreatic and oral cancers, which usually have low survival rates due to their lack of symptoms in the early stages.

"Saliva can be sampled more easily and casually than blood or stool inspection," said Masaru Tomita, head of the Keio Institute, in a statement. "We would like to apply this technology not only to cancer cases but also other illnesses as well."