A test which can detect oesophageal cancer at an earlier stage than current methods must be made more widely available to prevent deaths, charities have said.
The capsule sponge test, formerly known as Cytosponge, involves a patient swallowing a dissolvable pill on a string. The pill then releases a sponge that collects cells from the esophagus as they are recycled.
The test can detect abnormalities that form as part of a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus, which makes a person more likely to develop esophageal cancer.
According to the United Kingdom, 9,300 people a year are diagnosed with esophageal cancer Cancer Research. The disease is difficult to detect because the symptoms for the cancer are not easily recognizable – and can be confused with indigestion – until it is in an advanced stage.
The disease has a 10-year survival rate of 12%, a rate that rises to 55% if the cancer is detected early, in stage one.
The capsule sponge test can detect the cancer at an earlier stage than the current methods, such as an endoscopy, used to diagnose esophageal cancer. However, it is only currently available for patients at higher risk as an alternative to endoscopy as part of NHS pilot schemes.
Cancer Research UK works with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) about a trial that will recruit 120,000 people to see if the capsule sponge test can reduce deaths from oesophageal cancer. If successful, the test can be rolled out more widely.
Heartburn Cancer UK founder Mimi McCord, who lost her husband Mike to oesophageal cancer in 2002, said: “Oesophageal cancer is a killer that can hide in plain sight. People don’t always realize this, but not all heartburn is harmless. While they continue to treat the symptoms, the underlying cause can kill them.”
The charity is calling for the capsule sponge test to be more widely adopted so patients can be diagnosed earlier and given a better chance of survival. “We have a test. We know it works. People are dying while we wait to make it widely available,” McCord said.
Dr Lyndsy Ambler, a senior strategic evidence manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Around 59% of all cases of oesophageal cancer are preventable. Yet endoscopy, the gold standard for diagnosing this cancer, is labour-intensive.
“We need better tools and tests to diagnose esophageal cancer and to identify and monitor people most at risk.
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“It is already making a difference in pilots within the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales to reduce endoscopy backlogs from the pandemic.”
A spokesperson for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), said: “Our guideline committee identified Cytosponge as a tool that could benefit the NHS for the diagnosis of dysplasia and cancer, but the quality of the evidence was not sufficient to support its use at present.
“We are aware of two ongoing trials and hope they can provide the evidence needed to fully assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of this potentially useful tool.”
