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Newswise — CLEVELAND—Researchers at (CWRU) and (UH) will use state-of-the-art medical technologies they invented—and licensed to —to detect esophageal precancer, specifically Barrett’s Esophagus (BE).

BE is a change in the cellular structure of the esophageal lining typically caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as heartburn. The goal is to reduce the incidence of esophageal cancer (EAC).

EAC is a rare type of cancer with a high-morality rate——and is more common in men than women, according to the Given that esophageal cancer has a stark , early detection and treatment of BE are critical to reducing EAC-related mortality.

Case Western Reserve and UH will evaluate how effective EsoCheck and EsoGuard—two FDA-approved technologies developed by Lucid Diagnostics—are in detecting BE in a non-GERD population that meets the (AGA) criteria for screening.

“Patients without GERD symptoms account for nearly half of prevalent EAC cases,” said

, professor of medicine and oncology at CWRU, gastroenterologist at UH and the Brenda and Marshall B. Brown Master Clinician in Innovation and Discovery at UH Seidman Cancer Center. “However, these individuals are excluded from the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines where chronic GERD is a mandatory prerequisite for screening. We aim to utilize EsoCheck and EsoGuard to improve BE detection within an at-risk population that would otherwise go unscreened, and to do so in a manner that does not over-tax limited endoscopy resources.”

The clinical trial will involve 800 participants recruited from UH, University of Colorado, Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina and Cleveland Clinic.

The research is supported with a new five-year, $8 million grant from the .

“This award is a wonderful recognition and the culmination of the esophageal cancer prevention work our team has been aggressively working on for the last 10 years,” said , the study’s principal investigator and the Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at the Case Western Reserve . “We are truly excited at the chance of advancing these potentially life-saving technologies, which could increase the number of people who qualify for esophageal precancer screening and provide fresh hope for esophageal cancer prevention.”

Markowitz, Chak, , a professor in the Department of Pathology, and Helen Moinova, an instructor at the School of Medicine are all inventors of the technologies and strategic advisors to Lucid Diagnostics.

To close the gap and lessen the strain on limited endoscopic resources, the research team will use EsoCheck and EsoGuard to identify BE in at-risk adults who would not otherwise be tested.

Clinicians can quickly and non-invasively gather surface esophagus cells for analysis without endoscopy by using the technology. The EsoCheck capsule, which resembles a gel cap and is connected to a thin catheter, is swallowed by patients.

Following cell retrieval, the test is used to identify abnormal esophageal cells and diagnose disease before it progresses.

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About Case Western Reserve University

At Case Western Reserve, one of the nation’s leading research universities, we’re driven to seek knowledge and find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. Nearly 6,200 undergraduate and 6,100 graduate students from across 96 countries study in our more than 250 degree programs across arts, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, science and social work. Our location in Cleveland, Ohio—a hub of cultural, business and healthcare activity—gives students unparalleled access to engaging academic, research, clinical, entrepreneurial and volunteer opportunities and prepares them to join our network of 125,000+ alumni making an impact worldwide. Visit case.edu to learn more.

About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of more than 20 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Oxford University, Taiwan National University College of Medicine and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on , and . For more information, visit .