Patient acceptability of FIT and CRC risk tool
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding reasons why patients with colorectal symptoms do not use the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) when offered and analysing a risk tool for colorectal cancer
IRAS ID
290890
Contact name
Muti Abulafi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Croydon University Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
The NICE FIT study (IRAS No 218404) investigated if the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), a non-invasive quantitative test which measures occult blood in faeces (faecal haemoglobin, FHb), could be used as a diagnostic tool to investigate patients with colorectal cancer symptoms. The results of this study support the use of FIT as an objective diagnostic tool to triage patients with both high and low risk CRC symptoms, reducing the number of unnecessary investigations.
Proposal: Addressing barriers to patient use is crucial in maximising uptake if FIT is recommended for symptomatic patients in future NICE guidance, as a colorectal cancer (CRC) rule-out test. An sub-study amendment to the NICE FIT study "The acceptability of FIT test and patient experience when used as triaging tool in patients with suspected colorectal cancer symptoms" has allowed over 1000 patients to feedback their experience of using FIT. The study is however limited to patients who were happy to use FIT when offered by primary or secondary care.
The proposed study will allow patients who decided not to use FIT or respond to the questionnaire to feedback why they made their decision though telephone interviews with the investigator to collect qualitative data to allow better understanding of patient barriers to using FIT.
Second study:
As well as using faecal haemoglobin alone as a triage tool to help rule out CRC there is the opportunity to determine if a CRC risk tool using a more patient parameters would allow better individualised risk categorisation of patients. The proposed study would use a risk tool for CRC, developed using NICEFIT study data, and use this developed tool to look at CRC outcomes compared to calculated CRC risk in a new cohort of patients retrospectively.REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/1006
Date of REC Opinion
31 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion