Kyoto –
A team of Kyoto University and other researchers has developed a method of predicting with high accuracy the risk of someone developing esophageal cancer by analyzing cells collected from inside the person’s cheeks.
If brought into practical use, the method could facilitate early cancer detection and cancer prevention through lifestyle improvements.
The team’s findings were published in an online international medical journal in April.
Its study covered 222 people age 40-94, all with a history of smoking and drinking who either had esophageal cancer or did not.
The team swabbed the inside of their cheeks to extract cheek mucosa cells and analyzed any genetic mutations.
Participants with a lower tolerance for alcohol had more…