Fecal immunochemical test
A fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is a test for human hemoglobin in stool as a screening tool for colorectal carcinoma. It is considered a better test than the traditional guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) which cannot distinguish human blood from food-derived sources.
Technical background
A fecal immunochemical test uses an antibody-based assay for the globin component of the hemoglobin molecule . The laboratory assay employs an automated immunoturbidometric test. Point of care assays use a form of immunochromatography .
There are a very large number of fecal immunochemical tests on the market and they are not equivalent in their accuracy .
History and etymology
The guaiac-based test has been in regular clinical use for a very long time, first being developed in the 1860s. Fecal immunochemical tests were introduced in the 1970s .
See also
