Cancer in the food pipe and upper stomach has been killing more people in the U.S. and other western countries over the past 50 years. These cancers can grow quickly and are often deadly.
However, catching them early can make a huge difference. A new tool developed by researchers promises to make early detection easier than ever.
The Trouble with Early Detection
Right now, doctors already know that people who have heartburn for a long time are more at risk for these kinds of cancer.
But, many doctors still don’t check for early warning signs in these patients. Even if they do, the guidelines aren’t always that helpful in catching cancer early enough.
Dr. Joel Rubenstein, a researcher and professor at Michigan Medicine, said, “A lot of people who get these cancers were never checked for them in the first place.”
This is a problem because when doctors do catch it early, there’s a lot more they can do to help.
A Smart Tool for Doctors and Patients
Rubenstein and his team came up with a smart new tool that could change all of this.
They used computer programs that can learn from data, known as artificial intelligence, to look at the medical records of over 10 million U.S. veterans.
They were looking for patterns or clues that might tell them who is most likely to get these cancers.
They named their tool K-ECAN. It uses basic information from your medical records like your age, weight, and past illnesses. Based on this, it gives doctors an idea of how likely you are to get these cancers.
What makes this tool special is that it doesn’t need any extra tests or measurements. Everything it needs is already in your medical records.
Before K-ECAN, there was an older tool that also aimed to find early signs of cancer, but it was a hassle. Doctors had to measure people’s hips and waists and remember to use a special website to figure out someone’s risk level.
K-ECAN is designed to be simpler and better. According to Dr. Rubenstein, it is more accurate than anything else out there and can predict cancer at least three years before it shows up.
Why This Matters
This is a big deal because lots of people who get heartburn don’t end up getting cancer, and some people who get these cancers never had heartburn at all.
That’s why a tool like K-ECAN is so useful. It can help catch the disease early in people who might not know they’re at risk.
Dr. Akbar Waljee, another researcher involved in the project, said that a lot of people worked together to make this happen.
Teams from different departments and research centers combined their expertise and data to build and test K-ECAN. He said this shows how teamwork and smart use of data can really help in fighting cancer.
The team is hopeful that K-ECAN can be built into electronic health records. This would make it easier for doctors to know when to check someone for early signs of cancer.
With this new tool, doctors are better equipped to stop these deadly cancers before they advance too far.
“We are very excited that this could lead to more people getting checked for cancer and fewer people dying from it,” Rubenstein said.
“We are eager to test it more and see if it can be used in other places, not just for veterans.”
In summary, this new tool could be a game-changer in catching two deadly forms of cancer early enough to make treatment more effective, potentially saving many lives in the process.
If you care about cancer risk, please read studies that exercise may stop cancer in its tracks, and vitamin D can cut cancer death risk.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies that yogurt and high-fiber diet may cut lung cancer risk, and results showing that new cancer treatment may reawaken the immune system.
The study was published in Gastroenterology.
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