New tests help detect esophageal cancer

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK have found a very simple way to test esophageal cancer.

Alan Bridge patient impressed with the new test method (photo: TTO) Until now, people often use an inner tube with a camera to detect signs of the disease. But this method is expensive and quite dangerous.

Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald, of the Medical Research Council, invented a very simple device. It consists of an osmotic tablet attached to a string. When the tablet was swallowed into the esophagus, Ms. Fitzgerald gently pulled the pill to give it a curettage on the patient's cell wall. After that, the rope and tablet are pulled out for testing.

Alan Bridge, the first patient to be tested on the new method, said: "I did not feel uncomfortable or painful when I swallowed the pill."

Esophageal cancer has developed rapidly in Western countries in recent years and killed every year over seven thousand people.

Esophageal cancer with heartburn symptoms increased by 350% within 2 decades. The increase in this disease may be due to the pressure of rushing modern lifestyle and stress created.

KHANG LINH (BBC News)