Biohit Oyj Press Release July 16, 2015 at 1:15 p.m. local time (EET)
A gastric cancer risk screening study starts in China, with at least 20 000 people to be screened by Biohit Oyj's GastroPanel test, with over 50 hospitals participating. The screenings are set to begin in 2015 and end in December 2016.
Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in both sexes worldwide (723,000 deaths/year, 8.8% of the total). The highest estimated mortality rates are in Eastern Asia. The most significant risk factors of gastric cancer are Helicobacter pylori infection (HP) and usually asymptomatic atrophic gastritis, caused by HP or autoimmune disease. The detection rate of early gastric cancer is less than 10 percent in China. In Finland gastric cancer diagnosis is often made after the patient already has alarming symptoms. (see: Additional information)
The gastric cancer risk screening study will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, GastroPanel biomarker screening will be conducted, and in the second phase, risk patients will be examined by gastroscopy. The project of early gastric cancer risk screening in the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases (Changhai Hospital), is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which is the organizer of a multi-center study of early gastric cancer riks screening.
CEO Liu Feng, Biohit Biotech (Hefei) Co., Ltd: 'The two most important risk factors of gastric cancer can be easily and accurately diagnosed by GastroPanel's biomarkers blood test. An early detection of stomach cancer risk using blood biomarkers could prevent significantly disease burden and healthcare costs.'
CEO Semi Korpela, Biohit Oyj: 'China is one of the countries with the highest incidence of gastric cancer, and accounts for over 40% of all new gastric cancer cases in the world. GastroPanel is non-invasive diagnostic test suitable for the screening of asymptomatic persons and those at high risk of gastric cancer. At the same time this early gastric cancer risk screening study offers an excellent opportunity for confirmation of the relevant cut-off values for the GastroPanelbiomarkers in Chinese population.'