We have thousands of patients waiting for investigations After seven-and-half minutes, the string is pulled out. Patients can be offered a throat-numbing spray, but the test does not require sedation. Around 15,000 patients have already been tested and about one in six have been diagnosed with Barrett’s Oesophagus, a condition in which the upper gut becomes damaged by acid reflux. They are at increased risk of developing oesophageal cancer and it is those patients the test is mainly targeting. Cancer rates have increased sixfold over the past 20-30 years with about 1,000 cases diagnosed every year in Scotland. Most of those patients will die, says Prof Fullerton, who is based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, yet the disease has a 90 per cent survival rate if it is treated at stage one.
‘Sponge on string’ alternative to endoscopy rolled out for cancer checks 08/07/2021, 12:06 am
The Cytosponge device is a pill on a string, which expands into a small sponge (Medtronic Cytosponge/PA)
A “sponge on a string” device used to screen patients for cancer has been rolled out to all Scottish mainland health boards.
The Cytosponge device can be offered to some people as an alternative to endoscopy and can be used to check Barrett’s Oesophagus patients for signs of cancer.
The procedure involves patients swallowing a small pill attached to a thread which then expands into a little sponge and is pulled back up, collecting cells on the way to be analysed for any abnormalities.