Point of Care Faecal Immunochemical Testing for Colorectal Cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can Point of Care Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) be used in a clinical setting to contribute towards the diagnosis and management of symptomatic patients?
IRAS ID
260384
Contact name
William Maclean
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Development, Royal Surrey County Hospital
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 27 days
Research summary
Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) is an investigation that can detect the presence and concentration of blood in the stool. It is a recognised test for patients in primary care presenting with bowel symptoms. Recent evidence suggests that FIT is a good “rule out” test of cancer for these patients. FIT is performed by the patient collecting a stool sample and then the sample is sent off to and processed in a laboratory. There are however available portable FIT machines that offer a result at the point of care that have not been trialled in these patients.
There is an increased number of patients with symptoms being referred to our fast track “two-week rule” clinic for suspected bowel cancer and the majority will undergo an internal camera investigation called colonoscopy. Point of care FIT may offer a quicker, more convenient, less painful and cheaper alternative.
We hope to understand the accuracy of this form of investigation in our two-week rule clinic by comparing its results with patients’ standard investigations. The data generated can be used to determine its use as a triage tool or an alternative to colonoscopy.
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0889
Date of REC Opinion
31 May 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion