Taiwanese medical researchers have developed the world’s first two-in-one stool test that simultaneously screens for stomach cancer and colorectal cancer risks, National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) said yesterday.
Combining the test for colorectal cancer-related bleeding and Helicobacter pylori in feces saves time and medical costs, and can potentially reach more patients, NTUH doctor Lee Yi-chia (李宜家) said.
A gastroscopy is typically used to test for H pylori, the bacteria that cause peptic ulcers and stomach cancer, but the procedure’s invasiveness puts many people off, impeding early detection and treatment, Lee said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Stool and breath tests for the bacteria are 95 percent accurate, assuming a good cold chain, he said.
The two-in-one test increased participation in stomach cancer screening by 14 percent compared with separate testing, he said, citing a 10-year trial conducted in Changhua County.
The increased participation decreased stomach cancer by 32 percent and colorectal cancer deaths by 28 percent in the county, he said.
The hospital and the Ministry of Health and Welfare are jointly conducting trials for the new test in nine administrative regions, Lee said, adding that plans are in motion to expand the trials to every jurisdiction.
The novel test is part of the hospital’s effort to reduce abnormally high cancer rates in Taiwan’s medically underserviced mountainous regions and outlying islands, NTUH superintendent Wu Ming-shiang (吳明賢) said.
In 1995, the hospital established H pylori infection screening capability in Lienchiang County, making residents of the outlying county the second-most long-lived among Taiwan’s 22 regions, he said.
The hospital 19 years later expanded that capability to Changhua County and trialed the two-in-one test, which proved effective in reducing gastrointestinal tumors, Wu said.
The study, “Screening for Helicobacter pylori to prevent gastric cancer: A pragmatic randomized clinical trial,” was published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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