United States – A quick strike at a doctor’s office could become a reality as one of the researchers sampled stomach tissue to detect early signs of stomach cancer, which is the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths globally.
In the study, one researcher found bather that swab samples of people with stomach cancer or precursor conditions differed distinctly from those of healthy patients, as reported by HealthDay.
Oral Microbiome
An oral rinse could possibly serve as a first step in a quick and easy cancer detection approach. The researchers will present this scenario during the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 20.
“We see that the oral microbiome and the stomach microbiome are connected, and knowing what bugs are in your mouth tells us what the stomach environment is like,” researcher Dr. Shruthi Reddy Perati, a general surgery resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, said in a news release. “That has a huge implication that could lead to some practice-changing tests and guidelines.
It is for the study, researchers compared samples from 30 people who were diagnosed with stomach cancer, 30 people who had prediagnosis, and a control group of 38 healthy patients.
Preventing Cancer Before It Strikes
More importantly, however, researchers haven’t noticed any difference in the bacteria in people’s mouths with full-blown stomach cancer and those with pre-cancerous stomach conditions.
Researchers have suggested that this is an indicator that an individual’s microbiome can be altered as the gastric cell undergoes changes that may result in cancer.
If that’s the message, an oral rinse test could very well help doctors and patients hatch a plan to prevent stomach cancer even before it occurs.
“In the cancer world, if you find patients after they’ve developed cancer, it’s a little too late,” Perati said. “The ideal time to try to prevent cancer is when it’s just about to turn into cancer. We were able to identify people who had pre-cancerous conditions. As a screening and prevention tool, this has enormous potential.”
According to the data, the researchers discovered that 13 bacteria strains are the dominant players in the distinction between the microbiota communities of healthy people and those on their way to the development of stomach cancer.
Future Research and Guidelines
“No formal screening guidelines for gastric cancer are available in the United States, and more than half of patients with gastric cancer receive a diagnosis when the cancer is already at an advanced stage,” Perati said.
The researchers intend to carry out large studies across multiple hospitals to identify the causality between exposure to radiation and about the onset of cancer, as reported by HealthDay.
As these data shall serve as a means of communication to the medical community, they should be considered preliminary until they are slated for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.