Biohit GastroPanel® test helps reducing unnecessary gastroscopies in pre-operative evaluation of the patients referred for bariatric surgery

Biohit Oyj Press release, 22nd February, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. local time (EET)

Bariatric (obesity) surgery has become increasingly common in Western countries as the ultimate means to reduce the excess weight in patients with morbid obesity. In Finland, almost a thousand such operations are performed every year and in Sweden eight times more, 30.000 in France and more than a quarter of a million in USA. A careful pre-operative evaluation is necessary for all patients to assess the status of their stomach, usually done by gastroscopy and biopsies. A recently published study from Tartu University Hospital (Estonia) shows that almost one third of these pre-operative gastroscopies can be replaced by non-invasive biomarker testing with GastroPanel (Biohit Oyj)(1,2).  

GastroPanel test has been validated in different settings, both in diagnosis of stomach disorders in patients with upper abdominal symptoms (dyspepsia) and in screening of the well-known risks of gastric cancer: 1) Helicobacter pylori infection and 2) atrophic gastritis (1,3,4,5).  A cohort of morbidly obese patients in Tartu was tested with GastroPanel as part of their pre-operative evaluation for bariatric surgery (2).

Prof. Kari Syrjänen, Chief Medical Director of Biohit Oyj: "Of these 65 patients (the mean BMI of 44) tested before surgery, GastroPanel resulted in a normal biomarker profile in 22, while the rest 43 showed various abnormalities in the biomarker profile. These results had an excellent agreement with the gastroscopy and biopsy results used as the confirmatory test in all patients. Importantly, 20 of these 22 patients with normal GastroPanel profile were also asymptomatic before operation.”  

Mr Semi Korpela, CEO of Biohit Oyj: "This new study delivers an important message to all patients who are referred for bariatric surgery. Based on the results of this study, and as determined from the previously established data on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis, we can estimate that in Western countries, up to 80% of gastroscopies could be replaced by GastroPanel in the primary diagnosis of dyspeptic patients. This could significantly reduce these examinations that are felt uncomfortable by the patients and lead to substantial savings in healthcare costs.”

Additional information: 
CEO Semi Korpela, Biohit Oyj
tel. +358 9 773 861
investor.relations@biohit.fi
www.biohithealthcare.com

References:
1. www.biohithealthcare.com/additional-information
2.Suumann, J., Sillakivi, T., Riispere, Z., Syrjänen, K., Sipponen, P. Kirsimägi, Ü. and Peetsalu, A. Serological biomarker testing helps avoiding unnecessary endoscopies in obese patients before bariatric surgery. BMC Obesity. 5, 9-17, 2018.
3.Syrjänen, K. A Panel of serum biomarkers (GastroPanel®) in non-invasive diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Anticancer Res. 36, 5133-5144, 2016.
4.Syrjänen, K., Eronen, K. Serological testing in management of dyspeptic patients and in screening of gastric cancer risks. J. Gastrointest. Disord. Liver Funct. 2(3),1-5, 2016.
5.Syrjänen, K. Serological biomarker panel (GastroPanel®): A test for non-invasive diagnosis of dyspeptic symptoms and for comprehensive detection of Helicobacter pylori  infection. Biomark. J. 3, 1-10, 2017

Biohit in brief

Biohit Oyj is a globally operating Finnish biotechnology company. Biohit’s mission is "Innovating for Health” – we produce innovative products and services to promote research and early diagnosis. Biohit is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and has subsidiaries in Italy and the UK. Biohit's Series B share (BIOBV) is quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki in the Small cap/Healthcare group. www.biohithealthcare.com