Gastroenterology Today Summer 2022

NEWS
ASSESSING STOMACH HEALTH TO IMPROVE
GASTRIC CANCER DIAGNOSIS
Chronic gastrointestinal problems can signal something
serious, such as atrophic gastritis (AG) or gastric intestinal
metaplasia – both neoplastic conditions – which are often
initiated by Helicobacter pylori infection. There are currently
several methods to diagnose H. pylori, including a stool
antigen test or urea breath test, which do not show the level
of mucosal damage from AG, or gastroscopy, an invasive
procedure that often has long waiting lists. From a clinical
point of view, it is vital to identify AG as early as possible, as it
is a significant risk factor for gastric cancer, a condition that is
often diagnosed at a late stage – carrying an abysmal five year
survival rate of 20.7 % in the UK – and requires surveillance.
The recent guidelines from the British Society of
Gastroenterology (BSG) recommend that the key to early
cancer detection is to non-invasively detect pre-cancerous
conditions before endoscopy. However, the current diagnostic
pathway for patients presenting with stomach complaints
is ambiguous, and they often remain in primary care too
long – delaying diagnosis – or are referred too soon, where
gastroscopy identifies no pathology. BIOHIT HealthCare Ltd
has developed a test to help screen these high risk patients
in primary care, enabling GPs to confidently identify patients
who can be managed symptomatically, or otherwise should be
referred to a specialist for gastroscopy.
provides results in just 15 minutes, enabling quick and reliable
diagnosis of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients
with stomach problems. This can help identify patients with
AG sooner, and with comparable accuracy to the current gold
standard methods – gastroscopy and histology – to select
patients that require further examination.
The GastroPanel Quick Test is a cost-effective method that helps
to improve the management of patients with gastrointestinal
problems. Importantly, it bridges the gap in the diagnostic
pathway, potentially identifying pre-neoplastic conditions in
primary care, and increasing the diagnostic yield in secondary
care by only referring patients in the higher risk category. This
could lead to more gastric cancers being detected at an earlier,
more curable stage, while at the same time reducing both the
cost and volume burden on healthcare resources.
The GastroPanel Quick Test is now available in the UK. For more
information visit our website biohithealthcare.co.uk or see us in
person at stand A56 at BSG Live 22 for a live demonstration of
the GastroPanel Quick Test.
For more information about GastroPanel
contact: info@biohithealthcare.co.uk
The GastroPanel ® Quick Test is a non-invasive blood test
that investigates H. pylori infection and measures three
stomach-specific biomarkers – pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II
and gastrin-17 – to rapidly detect AG, offering more decisive
clinical information compared to an H. pylori test alone. It
can easily be performed during a clinical appointment, and
GASTROENTEROLOGY TODAY - SUMMER 2022
For the early diagnosis
of gastric cancer risk
Reduce endoscopy waiting lists and
improve the diagnostic pathway for
patients, through an earlier, faster
and more cost-effective approach.
20
www.biohithealthcare.co.uk