The Cytosponge is a new diagnostic test that aims to improve early detection of Barrett’s Oesophagus and oesophageal cancer. It is a quick, safe and accurate test that can be performed in a GP surgery. The test is meant for patients who have had gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) symptoms for several years. In the future it could be used to triage patients who go to their GP with symptoms, case-find patients who might be more at risk of developing this cancer and support the monitoring of patients who have been diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus.  Currently people are diagnosed by having a procedure called an endoscopy which is more invasive.

Heartburn Cancer UK's Medical Trustee, Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, and her team have been working hard on making this test available for the general public over the last 10 years.  The most recent trial, named BEST3, was featured in The Lancet at the end of July 2020 and the results show how the less invasive screening device has come into it's own during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You may be interested to watch the below YouTube video webinar called 'Catching Cancer Early - how long is a piece of string' - hosted by Professor Fitzgerald where she explains her practice-changing work on the early detection of cancer at this Cambridge Biometric Campus on Virtual Tour event. Here she explains how she has developed the Cytosponge or ‘sponge on a string’ pill test as a screening tool to identify people at greatest risk of cancer of the food pipe (oesophagus) – from the initial idea through to the latest clinical trial results.

The webinar also demonstrates, in the below infographic, how the Cytosponge is much less intrusive to the patient than the endoscopy and shows the difference in time spent administering the procedures.  This has been especially highlighted during the pandemic where several members of staff are required for an endoscopy. 

By the way - to answer the question about how long is a piece of string on a Cytosponge - it's 50cm!