GASTROClear is a blood test that is aimed at providing information to help doctors identify patients who may benefit from detailed medical examinations to diagnose gastric cancer early, before symptoms appear. The test will report a risk score that indicates if the person tested is at Low Risk, Intermediate Risk, or at High Risk of having gastric cancer. Does GASTROClear replace gastroscopy for gastric cancer detection?
What Does Mirxes Say Is The Intended Use Case For GASTROClear?
According to its manufacturer Mirxes on their website (extracted 27 Jul 23), the intended use for GASTROClear is as “an adjunctive test for the detection of gastric neoplasia associated miRNA biomarkers in human serum. GASTROClear is NOT intended as a replacement for gastroscopy; it should be used in conjunction with gastroscopy and other test methods in accordance with recognised clinical guidelines. It is thus an adjective tool to aid in the detection of gastric cancer.”
They go on further to say that “(the) result obtained from the test may indicate the presence of gastric cancer and the patient then goes for gastroscopy and biopsy as required. The output of the GASTROClear test is a risk score where a high score may indicate the presence of gastric cancer and should be followed up by gastroscopy.”
GASTROClear Is Highly Accurate For Gastric Cancer Detection
Mirxes says that GASTROClear has a verified 82% sensitivity (i.e. low incidence of false negatives) and 88% specificity (i.e. low incidence of false positives) for detecting gastric cancer in “average-risk” Chinese and Korean persons with no gastric cancer symptoms. It is thus highly accurate. This raises the question then, why doesn’t GASTROClear replace gastroscopy for gastric cancer detection?
Why Doesn’t GASTROClear Replace Gastroscopy?
Mirxes explains on their website that GASTROClear detects microRNAs (which are biological molecules) that are secreted by gastric cancer cells. As gastric cancer develops over an extended period of time, the amount of such secreted miRNAs may change over time. GASTROClear assesses the risk of gastric cancer based on quantities of miRNA found in the patient during the time of testing.
If the test results show “high risk”, it means that the patient’s current risk of contracting gastric cancer is high compared with the general population. Mirxes emphasises that GASTROClear is not a standalone diagnostic test, and that the risk score alone is not indicative of whether the patient has gastric cancer or not.
In addition, there is currently insufficient evidence that GASTROClear is effective in detecting gastric cancer before it develops. In their clinical validation study, only 60% of patients with gastric high-grade dysplasia (a pre-malignant lesion which is likely to progress to gastric cancer) were scored as “high risk”.
On the other hand, during a gastroscopy, the doctor visually inspects the inside of the oesophagus, the stomach, and the duodenum with a gastroscope. The doctor may thus be able to visually detect the lesion and perform other diagnostic procedures such as extract polyps and take tissues for biopsies to make a more accurate assessment.
Why Take GASTROClear Test If Gastroscopy Is Still Required To Confirm Gastric Cancer?
While GASTROCLear does not replace a gastroscopy, people can consider it as an initial screening for gastric cancer, since gastroscopy is both relatively costly and invasive. While a “low risk” score also does not exclude the possibility of gastric cancer, the high accuracy of the test may imply that there is currently no need to undergo a gastroscopy – thus saving the patient time, money and discomfort. An elevated risk result on the other hand, can serve to indicate a more urgent need for a more thorough checkup.
Getting A GASTROClear Test Or A Gastroscopy In Singapore, Malaysia Or Thailand
A number of health screening packages by our healthcare partners include GASTROClear gastric cancer screening. Explore the options on our ecommerce shop. Click here instead if you wish to explore our available options for gastroscopy.
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This article is informative only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.
