PhD student Martin Wyckmans (from the University of Antwerp, Belgium) has performed a study in collaboration with the Endeavor Chief Investigator Prof. Dr. Sheila Krishnadath. The research was presented via a poster on February 13th in Liège, Belgium at the Belgian Week of Gastroenterology (BWGE) during the Belgian Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (BSGIE) session.
What was the study about? For the Endeavor study ‘brushes’ will be used to obtain cellular samples of the esophagus during endoscopy. This technique is called ‘brush cytology’. When performing brush cytology, the brush bristles exit a protective sheath and are, per standard protocol, retracted back into the sheath after sampling. This study compared the cellular yield of samples where the brush was retracted back into the sheath versus samples where the brush was not retracted back into the sheath after sampling.
Results? There was more cellular yield when not retracting the brush. As diagnostic accuracy depends on the cellular yield, this small-scale study points towards better diagnostic performance of brush cytology by not restracting the brush into the sheath after sampling during endoscopy.
Why is this important? Improving how we sample tissue of the esophagus will lead to better results for the ENDEAVOR project. By sharing this study with other researchers, research methods of other studies can be improved. This will lead to better science in a wide range of projects!
