Anthony Kelly, 71, from Haughton, took part in the BEST4 Screening trial this morning (February 3), where a mobile screening unit visited the ASDA Darlington Superstore.
Having lived with reflux and heartburn for most of his life, and experienced first-hand the devastating impact cancer can have, Antony said he was keen to take part.
The retired electrical inspector, who now volunteers at St Teresa’s Hospice, has suffered from stomach problems since childhood.
He said: “When I was seven years old, I was told I had a ‘nervous stomach’ and since then I’ve been on every tablet and prescription you can imagine.
“It’s a lot worse now I’m older and it keeps me up most of the night, so I’m very keen to get it looked at.”
Anthony has seen the impact cancer can have after losing his first wife to leukaemia when he was 23-years-old, and then having lost both parents to the disease.
Anthony Kelly and Irene Debiram-Beecham, Principal Research Nurse and the BEST4 Clinical Coordinator, who carried out the procedures today. (Image: Cancer Research UK)
He said: “I take prescribed medication for the symptoms, but if I miss any doses, I notice it getting worse. I had an endoscopy a few years ago, but this sounds much more straightforward.
“Any new development which makes it cheaper and less intrusive for these kind of tests is good news. The pill on the thread is fascinating and I’m happy to be involved in something which could help create a future screening programme.”
The BEST4 Screening trial is testing whether a ‘pill-on-a-thread’ capsule sponge test could be used to screen people with chronic heartburn for Barrett’s oesophagus – a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer.
The trial is backed by £6.4 million of funding from Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The test takes ten minutes to do, making it much faster and less expensive than an endoscopy. The trial will find out if the capsule sponge test can detect oesophageal cancers earlier, reducing the need for intensive treatments and preventing deaths.
Anthony Kelly and Irene Debiram-Beecham, Principal Research Nurse and the BEST4 Clinical Coordinator, who carried out the procedures today. (Image: Cancer Research UK)
The capsule sponge starts off as a small, coated pill attached to a piece of thread. When a patient swallows the pill and it reaches the stomach, the coating dissolves and the sponge inside it expands to the size of a cherry tomato.
The sponge collects cells from the oesophagus, and they are sent for testing for two proteins which tell doctors if someone has Barrett’s oesophagus or oesophageal cancer.
Following the initial rollout of the trial in Cambridgeshire in November 2024, the trial aims to recruit 120,000 people who regularly take medication for heartburn.
According to analysis from Cancer Research UK, there are around 9,300 new cases of oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.
It is the seventh most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with around 22 deaths a day from the disease.
The BEST4 Screening trial will find out if a new ‘pill-on-a-thread’ test could be used to screen people with heartburn for Barrett’s oesophagus (Image: Cancer Research UK)
Consultant gastroenterologist at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and principal investigator of the BEST4 Screening trial in North Teesside and Darlington, Professor Matt Rutter, said: “Oesophageal cancer is becoming more commonly recognised in the UK. Despite advances in treating the disease over recent years, only one in five people survive this cancer for five years or more.
“The capsule sponge test is much quicker, less expensive and can be delivered in the community. We hope that the BEST4 Screening trial will help us identify more people earlier and crucially reduce deaths from oesophageal cancer.”
The trial is open to men aged 55 to 79 and women aged 65 to 79 who have regular symptoms of heartburn, acid reflux, or indigestion, or who regularly use medication to manage these symptoms.
If you receive a text message from NHSresearch, you can click the link to sign up, or sign up through the Heartburn Health website: https://www.heartburnhealth.org/join-the-programme/