BIOHIT launches new quick test to help streamline gastroscopy referrals

BIOHIT HealthCare Ltd is attending the BSG Live 2023 conference in Liverpool, where it will unveil a revolutionary new test to support decision making for gastroscopy referrals and improve the early detection of gastric cancer. The GastroPanel^® Quick Test diagnoses Helicobacter pylori infection, atrophic gastritis (AG) – a precancerous condition – and high gastric acid output in just 15 minutes, helping to triage patients in primary care and promote early discovery and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.

The rapid, non-invasive test can be performed on a finger-prick blood sample during a clinical appointment to investigate H. pylori infection and three stomach-specific biomarkers; pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II and gastrin-17. The easy-to-use test can detect AG with comparable accuracy to the current gold standard methods, gastroscopy and histology, at a fraction of the cost. Detecting AG earlier in the diagnostic pathway will help to identify patients at risk of developing gastric cancer, leading to improved prognosis as well as refining the selection of patients that require further examination. This can alleviate the strain on gastroscopy services, triaging those most in need of specialist investigation and identifying patients that can be treated within primary care.

Studies have shown GastroPanel to be highly reliable in the diagnosis of AG, with a sensitivity of 74.7 per cent and a specificity of 95.6 per cent. The test also demonstrates negative and positive predictive values of 91 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively. On top of this, data suggests that non-invasive screening using pepsinogens in the over 50s reduces the lifetime risk of some types of gastric cancer by 26.4 per cent,^1,2 confirming the potential of GastroPanel for improving patient outcomes through early identification of high-risk individuals.

Graham Johnson, Managing Director at BIOHIT, commented: “We are incredibly excited about the launch of the GastroPanel Quick Test across the UK. This ground-breaking test will assist GPs in the care of their patients, helping them to confidently rule out AG and make informed decisions on who to refer to secondary care for gastroscopy. This is a cost-effective solution for the healthcare system that will also help endoscopy services apply the resources they have to those who need them, so that gastric cancer and significant disease can be found earlier on.”

References

1. Zagari RM, Rabitti S, Greenwood DC et al. 2017. Systematic review with meta-analysis: diagnostic performance of the combination of pepsinogen, gastrin-17 and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies serum assays for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 46:657-667

2. Yeh JM, Hur C, Ward Z et al. 2016. Gastric adenocarcinoma screening and prevention in the era of new biomarker and endoscopic technologies: a cost effectiveness analysis. Gut. 65(4):563-574

Want the latest science news straight to your inbox? Become a SelectScience member for free today>>