A simple sponge test could help diagnose a type of cancer often confused with heartburn.
Cancer symptoms are frequently misdiagnosed as other illnesses. For instance, one woman initially thought her symptoms were due to a UTI, but she was actually suffering from desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT), a very rare form of cancer.
This misdiagnosis is common with many cancers, especially oesophageal cancer.
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of oesophageal cancer can include difficulty swallowing, chest pain, persistent coughing or hoarseness, unintentional weight loss, and worsening indigestion or heartburn.
Oesophageal cancer is relatively rare, yet heartburn affects approximately 25% of adults in the UK at any given time, according to Guts UK. This prevalence makes it easy to overlook a serious illness for a less severe condition.
Due to the commonality of heartburn, there are suggestions for frequent sufferers to undergo screening for oesophageal cancer using a simple sponge test.
This test involves swallowing a dissolvable pill attached to a string, which releases a sponge about the size of a 50p coin. As the sponge is pulled back up, it collects cells from the oesophagus.
It detects abnormalities associated with Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition that increases the risk of developing oesophageal cancer.
The test is expected to save lives by providing an alternative to the more involved endoscopy procedure, which is the current standard for diagnosing and treating this cancer.
Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge developed the sponge test, and Mimi McCord from Heartburn Cancer UK advocates for its broader availability.
Currently, it is thought to be available only to high-risk patients in the UK.
Mimi McCord, who founded her charity after her husband died from oesophageal cancer in 2002, highlighted how similar cancer symptoms are to heartburn, allowing it to go unnoticed.
“Cancer of the oesophagus is a killer that can hide in plain sight,” she told Metro. “People don’t always realise it, but not all heartburn is harmless.
“While they keep on treating the symptoms, the underlying cause might be killing them.”
Mimi added: “We have a test. We know it works. People are dying while we wait to make it widely available.”
Known as the Cytosponge test, this innovative diagnostic tool was approved by the FDA for use in the US in 2018. Despite its approval, it has not yet seen widespread adoption in the US compared to traditional endoscopy.