York Nutritional Laboratory is a medical research company that is earning a pioneering reputation. Last year it made national headlines with its work on food intolerance.

The company is convinced that millions of people suffering from chronic illnesses could recover by simply changing their diet. It has developed tests designed to identify the foods that cause problems so patients can eliminate them from their diet.

Patients who took part in one study reported a dramatic improvement in their health after following the advice of York Nutritional Laboratory scientists. As more people succumb to allergies and food intolerance, the importance of this work will only increase.

Today the company has announced another potential breakthrough. The new test is simple enough to administer: a pin-prick of blood is taken from the patient. But scientists say that this sample is enough to allow them to detect signs of a bacteria linked to stomach ulcers and, ultimately, stomach cancer.

The key to surviving any cancer is early diagnosis. In Britain, stomach cancer is often detected too late for the best treatment. York Nutritional Laboratory scientists hope their new test can help to change that.

There is much more work to be done. If the test is as reliable as is claimed, it must be decided who is tested, and when. Fully 30 per cent of the population is thought to be a carrier: should we test everyone?

Doctors would then have to decide what action to take when a patient is found to be a carrier of the bacteria. Telling anybody that they have an increased risk of cancer, however slight, is quite a responsibility. Before a single patient is put through that trauma we must be sure that effective treatment is available.

These questions do not detract from York Nutritional Laboratory's achievement in developing the test, however. Some people are suspicious of the motives of any private firm undertaking medical research. But without the efforts of such companies, our health would be markedly poorer.

Cancer is one of mankind's great enemies. To defeat it, we need to wage war on many fronts. These include York Against Cancer and its funding for university research; York Nutritional Laboratories; and the excellent efforts of young cancer victim Adam Hudson, who, as we report tonight, has helped to raise £2,000 for the Teenager Cancer Trust.

see NEWS 'York test hope on stomach cancer'

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