一项旨在确定是否应该使用创新的 10 分钟海绵测试来筛查胃灼热患者是否患有食道癌的重大试验已经迎来了第一批患者。

胶囊海绵测试要求患者吞下串在绳子上的可溶解药丸，药丸会释放出 50 便士硬币大小的海绵，在取出食道时收集细胞。

The first patients have been welcomed onto a major trial to determine if an innovative 10-minute sponge test should be used to screen people with heartburn for oesophageal cancer.

第一批患者已接受一项重大试验，以确定是否应使用创新的 10 分钟海绵测试来筛查胃灼热患者是否患有食道癌。

The capsule sponge test involves patients swallowing a dissolvable pill on a string, which releases a sponge the size of a 50p coin to collect cells from the oesophagus as it is retrieved.

胶囊海绵测试要求患者吞下串在绳子上的可溶解药丸，药丸会释放出 50 便士硬币大小的海绵，在取出食道时收集细胞。

It picks up abnormalities that form as part of a condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus, which makes a person more likely to develop oesophageal cancer.

它可以检测出巴雷特食管疾病的异常情况，这种疾病使人更有可能患上食管癌。

It is hoped that using the test to screen for the disease could save lives and reduce the need for “labour-intensive” endoscopy – a camera down the throat – which is currently the “gold standard” to diagnose and treat this type of cancer.

人们希望利用该测试来筛查这种疾病可以挽救生命，并减少对“劳动密集型”内窥镜检查（喉咙里的摄像头）的需求，而内窥镜检查是目前诊断和治疗此类癌症的“黄金标准”。

The study – known as the Best4 Screening trial – has been hailed as the “pinnacle of many years of painstaking research” by experts.

这项被称为 Best4 筛选试验的研究被专家誉为“多年艰苦研究的巅峰之作”。

It will aim to recruit 120,000 people over the next three years.

其目标是在未来三年内招聘12万人。

People who regularly take medication for heartburn will be invited to join with a text message from NHS research.

经常服用治疗胃灼热药物的人将被邀请加入 NHS 研究的短信。

Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, director of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge, invented the sponge test and is co-principal investigator of the Best4 trial.

剑桥大学早期癌症研究所所长 Rebecca Fitzgerald 教授发明了海绵测试，也是 Best4 试验的联合首席研究员。

She said: “The capsule sponge is changing how we detect Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer.

她说：“胶囊海绵正在改变我们检测巴雷特食管和食管癌的方式。

“Catching it earlier can save lives by reducing the need for chemotherapy and surgery to remove the oesophagus.”

“及早发现它可以减少化疗和切除食道手术的需要，从而挽救生命。”

As part of the trial, patients will visit mobile vans for the 10-minute test, where they will be given a small, coated pill attached to a thread.

作为试验的一部分，患者将前往移动货车进行 10 分钟的测试，在那里他们将获得一颗附有细线的小包衣药丸。

When this reaches the stomach, the coating dissolves and releases a small sponge.

当它到达胃时，涂层溶解并释放出小海绵。

This collects cells from the oesophagus as it is pulled from the stomach and will then be sent to be tested for two proteins; trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), which is only found in Barrett’s oesophagus, and altered p53 protein, which identifies cells which are starting to grow out of control and become oesophageal cancer.

当食道从胃中拉出时，它会收集食道中的细胞，然后将其送去测试两种蛋白质；三叶因子 3 (TFF3)（仅存在于巴雷特食管中）和改变的 p53 蛋白（可识别开始生长失控并成为食管癌的细胞）。

Prof Fitzgerald added: “The Best4 Screening trial is the pinnacle of many years of painstaking research, which has demonstrated that the capsule sponge can reliably identify Barrett’s oesophagus.

菲茨杰拉德教授补充道：“Best4 Screening 试验是多年艰苦研究的巅峰之作，它证明胶囊海绵能够可靠地识别巴雷特食管。

“Thousands of people have already benefited in trials and pilot programmes, and now we’re taking the test to the next level to see if we could offer this to everyone with heartburn.

“数千人已经从试验和试点计划中受益，现在我们正在将测试提升到一个新的水平，看看我们是否可以为每个患有胃灼热的人提供这种服务。

“The Best4 Screening trial could fundamentally transform the lives of people affected by oesophageal cancer by providing the crucial evidence needed to make it a viable screening programme, rolled out to every part of the UK.”

“Best4 筛查试验可以提供所需的关键证据，使其成为可行的筛查计划，并在英国各地推广，从而从根本上改变食道癌患者的生活。”

A previous trial – Best3 – found the sponge test picks up 10 times more cases of Barrett’s oesophagus in people with chronic heartburn compared to routine GP care.

之前的一项试验（Best3）发现，与常规全科医生护理相比，海绵测试在慢性胃灼热患者中发现的巴雷特食管病例多了 10 倍。

Paul Anderson, 59, is one of the first patients to join Best4.

59 岁的保罗·安德森 (Paul Anderson) 是第一批加入 Best4 的患者之一。

The stock controller from St Neots started getting acid reflux a decade ago and has been on medication to manage it ever since.

来自 St Neots 的库存管理员十年前开始出现胃酸反流，从那时起就一直靠药物来控制。

He said: “I’d never been on a clinical trial before, but when the invitation came for this one, I felt I had to sign up as the acid reflux had flared back up again.

他说：“我以前从未参加过临床试验，但当收到这次临床试验的邀请时，我觉得我必须报名，因为胃酸反流再次出现。

“I’m hoping that it may give me some more insight into my chronic heartburn, as well as helping people who may have similar concerns about their health.”

“我希望它能让我对我的慢性胃灼热有更多的了解，并帮助那些可能对自己的健康有类似担忧的人。”

Oesophageal cancer affects about 9,300 people a year, according to Cancer Research UK.

据英国癌症研究中心称，食道癌每年影响约 9,300 人。

Professor Peter Sasieni, director of the Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Trials Unit at Queen Mary University of London, said: “We have already shown that the capsule sponge can reliably identify people with Barrett’s oesophagus.

伦敦玛丽女王大学英国癌症研究中心癌症预防试验组主任 Peter Sasieni 教授表示：“我们已经证明，胶囊海绵可以可靠地识别患有巴雷特食管的人。

“Now we need to show that using it in a targeted screening programme can help prevent oesophageal cancer and reduce deaths from this disease.”

“现在我们需要证明，在有针对性的筛查计划中使用它可以帮助预防食道癌并减少这种疾病的死亡。”

Best4 has been backed by £6.4 million from Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Best4 得到了英国癌症研究中心和国家健康与护理研究所 (NIHR) 640 万英镑的支持。

Cancer Research UK chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “Around 59% of all oesophageal cancer cases are preventable.

英国癌症研究中心首席执行官米歇尔·米切尔表示：“大约 59% 的食道癌病例是可以预防的。

“Yet endoscopy, the gold standard for diagnosing and treating this cancer, is labour-intensive and not practical for a population screening programme.”

“然而，内窥镜检查作为诊断和治疗这种癌症的黄金标准，是劳动密集型的，对于人群筛查计划来说并不实用。”

Ms Mitchell described the sponge test as one of the “most exciting early detection tools to emerge in recent years”.

米切尔女士将海绵测试描述为“近年来出现的最令人兴奋的早期检测工具”之一。

“It’s a remarkable invention by Professor Fitzgerald and her team, and previous trials have shown how powerful it can be in identifying cancer earlier,” she added.

“这是菲茨杰拉德教授和她的团队的一项了不起的发明，之前的试验已经表明它在早期识别癌症方面有多么强大，”她补充道。

“Cancer Research UK is proud to be supporting this landmark clinical trial, bringing the capsule sponge test into the community and offering it to a much wider group of patients. After many decades of research, we’re on the cusp of transforming oesophageal cancer diagnosis forever.”

“英国癌症研究中心很自豪能够支持这一具有里程碑意义的临床试验，将胶囊海绵测试引入社区，并将其提供给更广泛的患者群体。经过几十年的研究，我们正处于永远改变食道癌诊断的风口浪尖。”