The Wall Street Journal highlights the development of a wearable gas-sensing device—nicknamed the “Fitbit for farts”—designed to continuously monitor intestinal gas patterns. Worn in underwear, the battery-powered sensor tracks flatus events in real time using miniaturized electronics and edge computing, reflecting broader trends in continuous biometric monitoring. Researchers hope the technology could do for gastroenterology what wearables like the Apple Watch did for cardiology: generate longitudinal, real-world physiologic data outside the clinic. By analyzing gas patterns over time, the device could potentially help diagnose and manage conditions such as IBS and other functional GI disorders, shifting care from episodic reporting…
Author: Abhay Panchal
Dr. Supriya Rao and Dr. Naresh Gunaratnam interview Daniel Tal Mor, co-founder and CEO of Lumen, a health technology company focused on metabolic measurement. Lumen’s handheld device analyzes a breath sample to estimate whether the body is primarily using carbohydrates or fats for fuel and pairs those measurements with app-based guidance designed to support nutrition.
Gastroenterology may be on the verge of shifting from episodic, flare-driven care to continuous, AI-enabled chronic disease management. According to GI leaders interviewed by Becker’s, AI-powered remote monitoring—particularly in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—could use patient-reported symptoms and biomarker data (e.g., fecal calprotectin) to predict flares, guide treatment escalation, and prioritize care in real time.
Cloud infrastructure is emerging as a key enabler of AI-driven innovation in gastroenterology, particularly as hospitals struggle to scale advanced diagnostics using legacy on-premise systems. Cloud-based platforms can integrate endoscopy devices, EMRs, and AI algorithms into interoperable ecosystems—supporting real-time polyp detection, faster computation, and seamless software updates without requiring hardware upgrades.
A new study from the University of California San Diego shows that AI models can analyze clinical notes to predict which ulcerative colitis patients with low-grade dysplasia are most likely to develop colorectal cancer. Using data from over 55,000 patients in the U.S. Veterans Affairs system, the automated workflow extracted key risk factors—such as lesion size, number of dysplastic sites, resection completeness, and inflammation severity—from narrative colonoscopy and pathology reports. The model accurately stratified patients into five long-term cancer risk categories, correctly identifying nearly half as low risk, with ~99% avoiding cancer within two years. By turning unstructured clinical documentation…
The third week of February brings a wide-ranging set of updates across GI oncology, reflecting continued progress in both biological stratification and clinical implementation. This week’s highlights span the care continuum—from colorectal cancer screening strategies and liquid biopsy integration to mechanistic insights into BRAFV600E resistance, metabolically defined pancreatic cancer subtypes, and perioperative immunotherapy in gastroesophageal malignancies. Emerging evidence in early-onset colorectal cancer, POLE-mutant GI tumors, and appendiceal adenocarcinoma further underscores how increasingly granular molecular characterization is reshaping long-held clinical assumptions. Collectively, these updates point to a broader shift in GI oncology—from static genomic labeling toward functional profiling, dynamic biomarkers, and…
The FORTE trial is a large randomized clinical study evaluating whether patients with 1–2 non-advanced adenomatous polyps benefit from earlier surveillance colonoscopy at 5 years compared to delaying follow-up until 10 years. While current guidelines recommend repeat colonoscopy within a 5–10 year window for these low-risk patients, there is limited randomized evidence to determine the optimal interval—leading to wide variation in practice and frequent overuse of early surveillance. Sponsored by NRG Oncology and enrolling an estimated 9,500 participants aged 45–70, the study will compare colorectal cancer incidence, advanced adenoma detection, cancer mortality, and late-stage disease outcomes between individuals randomized to…
Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests continue to face clinical validation challenges after Grail’s Galleri test failed to meet its primary endpoint in the large NHS-Galleri trial. The three-year study, which screened over 142,000 asymptomatic participants aged 50–77, did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in late-stage (III–IV) cancer diagnoses compared to standard screening alone—triggering a sharp decline in the company’s share value. While secondary analyses showed a favorable trend toward fewer late-stage cancers and a meaningful reduction in stage IV diagnoses in certain cancer subgroups, the trial outcome raises fresh concerns around the real-world utility of MCED tests for…
Stool-based screening remains a cornerstone of colorectal cancer prevention, with randomized trials showing that screening can reduce CRC incidence by up to 18% and mortality by up to 33%. In the U.S., the most commonly used noninvasive stool tests include the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and multitarget stool DNA testing (mt-sDNA), both recommended starting at age 45 for average-risk individuals. FIT detects human hemoglobin in stool and has largely replaced guaiac-based tests due to its higher sensitivity and specificity for CRC and advanced adenomas. In contrast, mt-sDNA testing (e.g., Cologuard) combines FIT with molecular biomarkers associated with colorectal neoplasia, offering…
Guardant Health has acquired MetaSight Diagnostics for $59 million upfront, with an additional $90 million tied to future regulatory and commercial milestones, as it looks to expand its multi-disease detection capabilities beyond oncology. MetaSight develops liquid biopsy diagnostics using a mass spectrometry–based multi-omics approach—including metabolomics, lipidomics, and proteomics—to identify disease biomarkers in blood samples. Its pipeline includes tests for colorectal cancer, liver fibrosis, myocardial infarction, diabetic kidney disease, and pancreatic and lung tumors. The acquisition complements Guardant’s existing blood-based colorectal cancer screening efforts and supports its broader strategy to develop diagnostics across cardiovascular, renal, neurodegenerative, and autoimmune conditions.