A vitamin-sized pill could be the future of esophageal cancer prevention.

Cancer of the esophagus — the muscular tube that moves food from the mouth into the stomach — has just a 20% five-year survival rate. Yet there are no standard or routine screening tests for the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Lucid Diagnostics, a New York-based biotech company, is looking to change that with its newly developed test, which only requires taking a single, vitamin-sized pill.

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Fox News Digital spoke with Lishan Aklog, M.D., chairman and CEO of Lucid, about how the test, called the EsoGuard, could offer a new line of defense against a cancer that has flown “under the radar” in terms of screening.

“For the more common breast, cancer and lung cancers, early detection programs like mammography, colonoscopy and PAP testing have decreased the mortality rates by about 50% over the last couple of decades — so we know early detection works,” he said. “But there are other cancers that we don’t talk about as frequently, but are extremely deadly.”

The three deadliest are all cancers of the gastrointestinal system, Aklog noted — pancreatic, esophageal and liver.

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“All three of them are effectively a death sentence, and we don’t think about these as much.”

With the new technology behind EsoGuard, Aklog hopes to offer a new routine screening for esophageal cancer and prevent deaths. 

Cancer prevention rather than detection

With other types of cancers, such as colon and breast, detecting the disease early in the first stage is a “victory,” Aklog said, because it comes with about a 90% cure rate.

“But it’s not really a victory to pick up stage one esophageal cancer,” he said. 

“The mortality rate for even stage one esophageal cancer is awful. It’s one of the cancers that you have to pick up in the precancerous stage in order to do the appropriate interventions and surveillance, so you actually can prevent cancer.”

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EsoGuard is designed to detect GERD — gastroesophageal reflux disease — which is known to be a risk factor for the development of esophageal cancer.

“There is a direct link that’s not very widely known between chronic reflux, chronic heartburn and cancer,” Aklog said.

“When you have fluid in the stomach, acid makes its way into the lower esophagus, where it doesn’t belong,” he went on. “That causes cellular changes that can eventually evolve into full-blown cancer.”

The sample is sent to the central laboratory for analysis, after which the patient gets a positive or negative result.  (Lucid Diagnostics)

Although anyone can benefit from the test, Aklog said, it is most important for people who have at least three of the six main risk factors.

Those at the highest risk include people with chronic heartburn, obesity, family history and a history of smoking. 

Those who are male, White and 50 years or older are also more likely to develop this type of cancer.

“There is a direct link that’s not very widely known between chronic reflux, chronic heartburn and cancer.”

Last year, Lucid partnered with the San Antonio Fire Department to screen firefighters, who have a 62% higher risk of developing esophageal cancer.

“In two weekends, we tested more than 400 firefighters, and we identified precancerous conditions in a number of them,” Aklog said.

Deputy Fire Chief Darin Wallentine of the Sarasota County Fire Department said he looks forward to starting regular screenings.

EsoGuard is designed to detect GERD — gastroesophageal reflux disease — which is known to be a risk factor for the development of esophageal cancer. (iStock)

“Any additional cancer screening is a tremendous benefit to the fire service,” he told Fox News Digital. “Catching a pre-cancer or early-stage cancer is an opportunity for a firefighter to maintain their career and … live a long and healthy life following a career of public service.”

He added, “It’s all about catching cancer early and not finding it when it’s too late.”

Simply treating heartburn symptoms won’t help reduce the risk, Aklog noted.

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“We have pretty good medications that treat the symptoms of heartburn — but they don’t treat the mechanical problem of the sloshing of fluid into the lower esophagus, even though the pain is not there.”

“Even if symptoms are well-controlled or even eliminated with these over-the-counter medications, behind the scenes the abnormalities in the esophagus are continuing and can progress to cancer,” he warned.

Cancer of the esophagus — the muscular tube that moves food from the mouth into the stomach — has just a 20% five-year survival rate. (iStock)

Only about 5% of the highest-risk population are currently getting tested, Aklog noted.

“It’s a huge opportunity to have a big impact on cancer deaths.”

How EsoGuard works

The precancerous condition occurs in a small two-inch patch in the lowest part of the esophagus, or the food tube just above the juncture with the stomach, Aklog said.

The goal is to collect cells from that area and then perform molecular diagnostic testing that can identify genetic changes very early.

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“It’s really groundbreaking science that allows scientists to pick up these very subtle changes in the earliest precancerous stage, before the abnormalities and mutations that typically come with cancer,” Aklog said.

The test has an 85% sensitivity and a 99% predictive value, he told Fox News Digital.

Historically, the only way to gather the cells was to do an endoscopy, an invasive test that requires anesthesia and sedation.

A malignant tumor is shown in the human esophagus. Only about 5% of the highest-risk population are currently getting tested for this type of cancer. (iStock)

“With EsoGuard, we can collect these cells in an office setting in less than two minutes, typically without anesthesia or any kind of sedation,” Aklog said.

“You just swallow this little capsule that’s attached to a little, floppy catheter — a balloon-like device — and within two minutes, the cells are collected in a very targeted way.”

“In two weekends, we tested more than 400 firefighters, and we identified precancerous conditions in a number of them.”

The sample is sent to the central laboratory for analysis, after which the patient gets a positive or negative result. 

“If it’s negative, they can feel comfortable that they don’t have the precancer, but if the underlying reflux continues, recent data would suggest that they undergo repeat testing every four to five years,” said Aklog.

If it’s a positive result, that means the patient has some degree of a precancerous condition.

Last year, Lucid partnered with the San Antonio Fire Department (not pictured) to screen firefighters, who have a 62% higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. (iStock)

“If it’s early precancer, they must undergo close monitoring with a follow-up endoscopy every three years to pick up the progression to late precancer, which is treated to prevent progression to cancer,” Aklog said. 

If it’s a later-stage precancer, the patient would get treatment via endoscopy to eliminate the abnormal cells and prevent them from developing into cancer, he said.

Doctors share insight

Dr. Bruce Greenwald, a leading gastroenterologist at the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Maryland Medical Center, was not involved in the EsoGuard development but commented on its effectiveness.

“Esoguard detects a precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus, which is a known risk factor for esophageal cancer,” he told Fox News Digital. 

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“If Barrett’s esophagus is found, then that individual can be followed with endoscopy, and interventions can be taken before Barrett’s esophagus becomes cancerous.”

Greenwald noted that while many people have GERD, esophageal cancer is relatively uncommon.

“Currently, those with GERD and the highest risk of esophageal cancer are White obese men,” he said. “Other groups also carry risk, but to a lesser degree.”

“A minimally invasive test like Esoguard could identify those at risk for esophageal cancer before it appears.”

“Currently, those with GERD and the highest risk of esophageal cancer are White obese men,” according to a gastroenterologist. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in Lucid’s test development but commented on its potential.

“It is an office procedure that takes five minutes and has over 90% accuracy,” he told Fox News Digital.

“You simply lower a pill into the stomach and pull it back out.”

“It is very useful as an intermediate step for those with chronic reflux, who could have a change in the esophagus that is a precursor of esophageal cancer,” he went on.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in Lucid’s test development but commented on its potential. (Fox News)

“This is especially important as we get older and the risks increase.”

Siegel noted that some people are afraid of getting an “invasive” endoscopy.

“This test is an intermediate, highly accurate step to help in assessing the risk and deciding whether you need an endoscopy or not,” the doctor said. 

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EsoGuard is now available in many major states, Aklog said.

“We’ve already done tens of thousands of tests, and physicians are embracing and adopting it for their patients,” he noted. “We have numerous examples of patients in whom we’ve picked up the latest stage of precancer, so we’re making an impact.”

The final steps in the process will involve getting insurance coverage, which is currently in the works.

Historically, the only way to gather cells for testing was to do an endoscopy, an invasive test that requires anesthesia and sedation. (iStock)

The EsoGuard has proven to be a “safe and simple” test, Aklog said.

“There have been tens of thousands of tests performed with no complications,” he said. “It’s just basically a swab of the lower part of the food tube.”

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The only caveat is that there have been a small number of false negatives and false positives, he pointed out. 

Greenwald agreed that the risk of a complication from EsoGuard seems to be low. 

“The test does require swallowing a catheter, which can be uncomfortable,” he said. 

“Identifying Barrett’s esophagus could cause anxiety about getting cancer, but most people with the condition never develop cancer,” he said. 

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While there have been some previous efforts to develop esophageal cancer screening methods, Aklog said they have not been as “gentle” or accurate as EsoGuard.

“This is the first one that’s been successful and accurate enough to play a role in a widespread early detection program.”

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Young people turned to antidepressants in greater numbers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, new research has shown.

Use of these medications was already on the rise prior to March 2020, but the pandemic accelerated that trend, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics on Feb. 26.

“Using 2016-2022 data from a comprehensive national database, we found that the antidepressant dispensing rate to adolescents and young adults was increasing rapidly before March 2020 but increased nearly 64% faster afterward,” Kao Ping Chua, M.D., PhD, a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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The data was pulled from the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, which compiles prescription information from most U.S. retail pharmacies.

Teen girls and young women were entirely responsible for the increase, the study found. “Among female adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, the antidepressant dispensing rate increased 130% faster after March 2020 than beforehand, compared with 57% faster among female young adults aged 18 to 25 years,” said Chua.

Among young males, however, antidepressant prescriptions decreased or changed very little, despite studies suggesting that the mental health of male adolescents worsened during the pandemic. 

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“Given this, it is surprising that the rate of antidepressant dispensing to male adolescents declined,” Chua noted. 

“I worry that this decline may reflect underdiagnosis and undertreatment of mental health concerns.”

Mental health experts share reactions

Marlene McDermott, LMFT, PhD, a Philadelphia-based licensed marriage and family therapist with Array Behavioral Care, said the increase is likely due to greater access to mental health care — which allows more teenagers to seek treatment that they may have always needed. 

She was not involved in the study.

“I think it will be important to monitor these numbers over the next two years to determine if this is a new baseline, or if there is a significantly worsening mental health crisis for teens,” she told Fox News Digital. 

Use of antidepressant medications was already on the rise before March 2020, but the pandemic accelerated that trend, according to the new study. (iStock)

“The destigmatization of mental health treatment is a good thing for the adolescent population,” McDermott added. “If the use of antidepressants lowers the death by suicide rates, we are on the right track.”

Marissa Stridiron, M.D., New Jersey-based medical director of acute care at Array Behavioral Care, who was also not involved in the study, pointed out that there was a large increase of children and adolescents in crisis coming into emergency rooms during the pandemic.

“The destigmatization of mental health treatment is a good thing for the adolescent population.”

“[This was] due to fewer earlier interventions from school-based therapeutic options, social isolation, a rise in social media use and resultant cyberbullying,” she told Fox News Digital.   

Although crisis visits have decreased as the pandemic has ebbed, Stridiron noted that it still appears to be higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

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“National media attention surrounding psychiatric crises in children and adults has led to increased access and earlier interventions in the outpatient realm, including from primary care physicians,” she said. 

“This is great because it means we are capturing more patients in outpatient settings and initiating treatments earlier, thus reducing or preventing crises.” 

Teens and young adults should seek medical attention if they are having depression symptoms, say mental health professionals. (iStock)

One limitation of the study, author Chua noted, is that it was not able to directly evaluate why antidepressant use by adolescents and young adults changed so much during the pandemic. 

“In particular, it’s unclear why antidepressant dispensing to male adolescents declined,” he said.

Based on these findings, the researchers believe there may be an increased need for antidepressant medications as well as additional research into these trends.

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“Adolescents and young adults with mental health symptoms should know that they are not alone,” said Chua. 

“It is important for them to seek medical attention if they are having these symptoms and for their parents to encourage them to do so.”

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Cases of norovirus, also known as the stomach flu, are rising across the country.

Specifically, in the northeastern U.S., positivity rates have hit 13.4% as of Feb. 17, as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Norovirus is very contagious, according to the CDC. It can cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. 

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The stomach bug can be spread through contaminated food or water, as well as through contact with sick people and contaminated surfaces.

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel addressed the uptick in cases during a Monday appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

The NYU Langone physician said that while washing your hands is an effective prevention strategy, norovirus can still spread through food.

“It gets in food, it gets in waste,” he said. 

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“People are touching each other’s hands, food handlers spread it. It’s spread indoors because everybody’s indoors [during] the winter.”

Siegel said he asked Mandy Cohen, the CDC’s director, on Sunday if the agency plans to test wastewater to examine virus spread, and her answer was “no.”

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News medical contributor, joined “Fox & Friends” on Monday, Feb. 26, to discuss the spread of norovirus cases that is occurring right now. (Fox News)

“That surprised me because we’re starting to use wastewater analysis everywhere,” he said. 

“I think that that’s probably a good idea.”

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The “biggest problem” with norovirus, according to Siegel, is that it causes dehydration due to symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.

“The elderly end up in the hospital – 100,000 of them a year,” he said. 

“It’s the most common kind of stomach flu we have [and] this is the season for it.”

Consuming electrolytes is “key” to preventing dehydration caused by norovirus, according to Dr. Siegel. (iStock)

He added, “If you have these symptoms, it’s norovirus.”

To ensure proper hydration, Siegel recommended taking “something with electrolytes,” such as Gatorade or Pedialyte.

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“Drink plenty of it,” he said. “That’s the key to the treatment. [There’s] no vaccine, no pill for it.”

There is no medication available to treat people with norovirus illness, the CDC stated on its website.

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Two hard-to-match transplant patients 250 miles apart started the year of 2024 with shining new hope for long, healthy lives — thanks to the collaboration of two Texas hospitals.

UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Solid Organ Transplant Program in Dallas, Texas, and University Health Transplant Institute in San Antonio worked together to find compatible living kidney donors for their failing patients.

In Dallas, Jorge Mendez, 50, an automotive shop foreman, was in need of a life-saving transplant.

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Mendez was on dialysis — which has a significant impact on not only a person’s quality of life on a daily basis, but also long-term health. 

It was important for him to find a transplant before he became too sick for the procedure, according to his doctor.

Mendez’s coworker, Svetlana Balmeo Stockdale, 28, offered to donate a kidney to her friend — but unfortunately she was not a match.

Meanwhile, 250 miles away in San Antonio, 71-year-old Ann Winer was also in dire need of a kidney transplant. 

She was on dialysis after waiting almost two years for a kidney donor.

Winer’s biggest obstacle was that she had unusual antibodies that made it very difficult for her to match with a donor, her doctors said.

“A patient’s access to a lifesaving transplant shouldn’t be limited by geographic or organizational boundaries.”

Winer’s daughter, Rebecca Warden, wanted to donate a kidney — but it was not a compatible match.

“Winer would likely have become weaker over time and her condition would have grown worse,” Parsia Vagefi, M.D., the transplant surgeon at UT Southwestern who led the surgical team in Dallas, told Fox News Digital.

“She said she had almost given up hope of receiving a transplant.”

Rebecca Warden, left, volunteered to give a kidney to her mother, 71-year-old Ann Winer of San Antonio, right. Warden was not a match, though, so Winer’s medical team in San Antonio collaborated with another team in Dallas to find a donor swap for their respective patients.   (University Health)

The leaders at both institutions began working together to find matches outside their local transplant networks.

After learning that she wasn’t a match for her friend, Stockdale — the intended donor for Mendez — got a surprising phone call.

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“A little while after I was told my kidney wasn’t a match, UT Southwestern called me and they said, ‘You couldn’t donate to Jorge, but we could do a swap with somebody else,'” she said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

As it turned out, Stockdale was a match for Winer, the grandmother in San Diego — and Warden, who had intended to donate to her mother, was a match for Mendez.

Setting the stunning plan into motion

The medical teams in Dallas and San Antonio began plans for a donor swap for their respective patients. 

“[After finding the matches], we began discussing, ‘When would we start the surgeries? How would we transport the organs? How would the organs be tracked?’” said Dr. Elizabeth Thomas, transplant surgeon with University Health who led the transplant team in San Antonio, in a comment sent to Fox News Digital.

Jorge Mendez, 50, left, received a replacement for his failing kidney after medical teams in San Antonio and Dallas searched beyond their own networks for compatible living donors for their patients. Shown at right with him and wearing a matching yellow gown, Svetlana Balmeo Stockdale, 28, walks with Mendez after the two underwent surgery at UT Southwestern in Dallas. (UT Southwestern)

Through “carefully choreographed surgical schedules and chartered flights,” the transplant teams ensured that the donated organs would be safely transported and transplanted as quickly as possible, according to a statement from the hospitals.

“[The transport] could be tracked minute by minute in the plane via a tag that was on the box that was used to transport [the kidneys],” Thomas said. 

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“It is important because we want to keep the time that the organ is out of the body without blood to a minimum.”

On Aug. 31, 2023, after a day of “superbly timed surgeries and close coordination,” according to the hospitals, Winer and Mendez received the new, functioning kidneys they needed to save their lives.

On Aug. 31, 2023, after a day of “superbly timed surgeries and close coordination,” according to the hospitals, Winer and Mendez received the new, functioning kidneys they needed to save their lives. (UT Southwestern/University Health)

“There are various ways you can do the swaps and various reasons to do them … It never gets old,” Dr. Vagefi told Fox News Digital.

Only a quarter of the transplants performed at UT Southwestern are from living donors, but Vagefi said he is hoping to expand that number, as living kidney donations last longer for the recipients. 

“It’s really great to participate in it and form a collaboration with others who are working toward the same mission but in a different city,” he said. “We crossed geographic boundaries to help these families.”

Grateful for new hope

Because of the life-saving transplant, Mendez was able to hold his new granddaughter when the baby was born in January.

“It brought tears to my eyes to hold her,” he said in a statement. “Now I can live a little bit longer to spend time with her.”

He later wrote to his donor: “Thank you very much. I owe you the world.”

“I don’t think of it as me saving somebody’s life — I think of it as me giving Jorge’s family members more time with him.”

“I felt like they’d never find a donor for me, but they did,” Winer said. 

On a card she sent to her Dallas donor, she wrote: “I will never be able to repay you.”

Stockdale, who had intended to donate to her friend Mendez, shared what being a donor means to her in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

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“I don’t think of it as me saving somebody’s life,” she said. “I think of it as me giving Jorge’s family members more time with him.”

“[For Winer], whatever she hasn’t accomplished in life yet that she ultimately wanted to do, I hope she gets to do it. Life’s too short to not live out your wildest dreams.”

Winer, the retired nurse anesthesiologist, later wrote a letter to Stockdale thanking her for the kidney.

Through “carefully choreographed surgical schedules and chartered flights,” the transplant teams ensured that the donated organs would be safely transported and transplanted as quickly as possible, according to the hospitals. (UT Southwestern/University Health)

“Thank you for giving me back my life,” she wrote. 

“I thought I would never get a transplant with my weird antibodies, and then you came along. Bless you.”

Warden — Winer’s daughter who had intended to donate to her mother but agreed to donate to Mendez in exchange for her mother receiving a transplant — also expressed her gratitude.

Parsia Vagefi, M.D., is the transplant surgeon at UT Southwestern who led the surgical team in Dallas. (UT Southwestern)

“At the end of the day, I’m happy that I’ve been able to help two people and not just one,” she said in a statement.

Today, both transplant recipients are doing well.

Winer is back at work part-time as a nurse anesthesiologist and is planning to retire at the end of July. 

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Mendez has also returned to work. “I feel great,” he said. 

Scott Bennett, associate vice president of the Solid Organ Transplant Program at UT Southwestern, said in a press release that “a patient’s access to a lifesaving transplant shouldn’t be limited by geographic or organizational boundaries.”

Dr. Parsia Vagefi of UT Southwestern led the surgical team in Dallas that collaborated with University Health in San Antonio to save two patients with failing kidneys.  (UT Southwestern)

“It was rewarding to see the collective can-do spirit of two highly regarded programs collaborate to make it happen,” he added.

A kidney is the organ in the greatest demand for transplant.

A healthy person can live a full life after donating one of their two kidneys, according to experts.

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The average life expectancy for someone on dialysis is five to 10 years, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

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