Faecal-immunochemical-test.co.uk aims to raise awareness and provide tailored information to clinicians, laboratory staff, and patients about the purpose and value of testing for faecal occult blood using the FIT immunochemical turbidimetric method, as well as the different support services available.
The Faecal Immunological Test (FIT) is an established bowel cancer test. Utilising a simple picker, the test is a clean and convenient way to check for blood in your poo.
If you have been asked by your Doctor to take a FIT test, you’ll find resources here to assist you with understanding more, and how to take the test itself.
The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is now an established bowel cancer test. This diagnostic assay identifies the presence of hidden blood in the stool, known as faecal occult blood (FOB), which can be an early sign of colorectal cancer. FIT uses antibodies specific to human haemoglobin so is more accurate and sensitive, provides a quantitative measurement, and gives fewer false positive results than other tests.
Read MoreFor the National Bowel Cancer Screening programmes FIT is bringing many advantages. Easier sampling methods are more acceptable to people invited for screening, which promotes greater uptake. Non-subjective, automated processing of samples advances laboratory efficiencies, improving standardisation and quality control. FIT is more sensitive and can detect cancers more reliably and at an earlier stage than previous methods used.
Read MoreNICE Guidance DG56 recommends “Quantitative faecal immunochemical tests to guide referral for colorectal cancer in primary care”. NICE concludes that a cut-off of 10 μg of Hb/ g faeces in a FIT has a high negative predictive value for colorectal cancer and other serious bowel diseases, therefore, FIT should be used to triage for referral to secondary care, people whose symptoms suggest colorectal cancer, but in whom a definitive diagnosis of cancer is unlikely.
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NHS England is encouraging people aged 50 and over to take part in bowel cancer screening, now being offered to 50-year-olds for the first time. Despite the launch, the uptake remains under 60%. Dr. Sadaf Haque from Gloucestershire urges people not to be “squeamish” about the simple process, which involves collecting a small stool sample…
Public Health Wales are pleased to announce the further optimisation of their bowel screening programme by reducing the minimum screening age another year to 50. This reduction marks the completion of their phased roll-out to include all eligible participants aged 50-74 years and will result in thousands more people who are most at risk of…
At this year’s CRUK Early Diagnosis Conference in Birmingham, Judith Strachan presented her poster entitled: GP Referral Rate and Clinical Outcome of Patients According to FIT Result. Introduction Faecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT) use specific antibodies against intact human haemoglobin and early breakdown products to quantify the amount of blood in faecal samples (f-Hb). There is…
