Screening of Colorectal Cancer by Fecal Occult Blood Testing Usefulness of Immunological Test

• Published in: Nippon Daicho Komonbyo Gakkai Zasshi Vol. 39; no. 6; pp. 721 - 726
• Main Authors: Shimizu, S., Okada, H., Watanabe, Y., Yoshinaka, M., Tada, M., Kawai, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japan Society of Coloproctology 1986
• ISSN: 0047-1801; 1882-9619
• DOI: 10.3862/jcoloproctology.39.721

A new laboratory kit for detecting fecal occult blood has been developed by Labsystem Co.: it comprises the FECATWIN-S and FECA-EIA test, which employ the Guaiac test and enzymeimmunoassay, respectively. Fecal occult blood testing was performed in 283 subjects, including 131 normal subjects, 33 patients with colorectal cancer, and 31 patients with polyps : its usefulness in the screening of colorectal cancer was evaluated. Without dietary restriction, a positive result was obtained in 74.8% by FECATWIN-S, and in 7.6% by FECA-EIA anong the normal subjects, showing a low false-positive rate of immunological testing. Fecal test for occult blood by FECA-EIA was positive in 90.9% of the patients with colorectal cancer and 22.6% of those with polyps, suggesting the reliability of this method in the screening of colorectal cancer. One limitation of the immunological method is the complexity of its technique. To conduct an effective screening program for colorectal cancer, the indication of the immunological test should be limited to the materials, which are positive by the FECATWIN-S test.