A study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined the diagnostic accuracy of fecal immunochemical testing in colorectal cancer or advanced neoplasia screenings in asymptomatic high-risk populations.
Anastasia Katsoula, MD, of Greece-based Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 12 studies with 6,204 patients. Researchers deemed seven studies as high or unclear risk of bias. They measured fecal immunochemical tests' diagnostic performance.
Here's what they found:
1. Researchers found FIT for CRC sensitivity was 93 percent, with an average specificity of 91 percent.
2. FIT for CRC had a positive likelihood of 10.30 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.08.
3. Average sensitivity of FIT for advanced neoplasia was 48 percent, with an average specificity of 93 percent.
4. FIT for advanced neoplasia had a positive likelihood of 6.55 and a negative likelihood of 0.57.
5. Researchers conducted a subgroup analyses. It indicated FIT cutoff values between 15- and 25-μg/g feces provided the best combination for CRC diagnosis.
Researchers concluded, "The FIT has high overall diagnostic accuracy for CRC but moderate accuracy for AN in patients at above-average personal or familial risk. Heterogeneity and wide confidence intervals limit the trustworthiness of our findings."