Fecal immunochemical test

Fecal immunochemical test
Faecal Immunochemical Testing

Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is a diagnostic technique that examines stool samples for traces of non-visible blood, which could potentially indicate conditions including bowel cancer.[1] Symptoms which could be caused by bowel cancer and suggest a FIT include a change in bowel habit, anaemia, unexplained weight loss, and abdominal pain.[2][3] By using a random forest classification model, sensitivity can be increased.[4]

Note: Blood in stools does not always mean the presence of bowel or anal cancer, it could be from other bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease or even hemorrhoids.

A 2022 UK guideline recommends the use of a FIT threshold of fHb ≥10 μg Hb/g to select patients with symptoms for an urgent referral for colorectal cancer investigation.[5]

  1. ^ "Bowel Cancer: Testing for blood in your poo using the FIT test". Cancer Research UK. 6 December 2021.
  2. ^ Quintero, Enrique; Castells, Antoni; Bujanda, Luis; et al. (23 February 2012). "Colonoscopy versus Fecal Immunochemical Testing in Colorectal-Cancer Screening". New England Journal of Medicine. 366 (8). Massachusetts Medical Society: 697–706. doi:10.1056/nejmoa1108895. hdl:10486/663879. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 22356323.
  3. ^ "Fecal immunochemical test (FIT): MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". medlineplus.gov.
  4. ^ Baxter, Nielson T.; Ruffin, Mack T.; Rogers, Mary A. M.; Schloss, Patrick D. (December 2016). "Microbiota-based model improves the sensitivity of fecal immunochemical test for detecting colonic lesions". Genome Medicine. 8 (1): 37. doi:10.1186/s13073-016-0290-3. hdl:2027.42/134551. PMC 4823848. PMID 27056827.
  5. ^ Monahan, Kevin J; Davies, Michael M; Abulafi, Muti; et al. (12 July 2022). "Faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) in patients with signs or symptoms of suspected colorectal cancer (CRC): a joint guideline from the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG)". Gut. 71 (10): 1939–1962. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2022-327985. hdl:10044/1/100510. ISSN 0017-5749. PMC 9484376. PMID 35820780.