An international study comparing colorectal cancer screening was published in an international cancer journal – Anticancer Research.
A hospital-derived cohort of 300 subjects were tested using the new-generation Biohit ColonView fecal immunochemical Test (FIT) and the traditional test for fecal occult blood (FOB). The results indicate that ColonView was superior to the conventional FOB test in colorectal cancer screening due to its significantly higher sensitivity. ColonView quick test detects both hemoglobin (Hb) and hemoglobin-haptoglobin (Hb/Hp) complex.
Cancer of the colon and rectum develops over a long period through well-defined precursor lesions which can be detected and removed before their progression to cancer. Colorectal cancer is one of the few human malignancies, which is amenable to population-based screening. Since 2004, a colorectal cancer screening pilot program has been ongoing in Finland using a FOB test. In countries where this same test is being used, a significant proportion of false positive alarms are constantly reported which makes colorectal cancer screening with FOB tests not cost-effective.
In this comparison study, ColonView was at best over 50% more sensitive than the traditional FOB test. The best screening test is the one which detects only the cancer precursors (adenomas) and cancers, with a minimum of false alarms that necessitate confirmation by expensive additional examinations. In many countries, a substantial amount of limited health care resources could be saved by replacing the current screening method (FOB) with the Biohit´s FIT test.
Vasilyev S, Smirnova E, Popov D, Semenov A, Eklund C, Hendolin P, Paloheimo L, Syrjänen K. A New-Generation Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) Is Superior to Quaiac-based Test in Detecting Colorectal Neoplasia Among Colonoscopy Referral Patients. Anticancer Res. 2015; 35:2873-80.
Link to full article: http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/35/5/2873.long