Diagnostic performance of quantitative fecal immunochemical test in detection of advanced colorectal neoplasia
Lu Ming, Chen Hongda, Liu Chengcheng, Zhang Yuhan, Wei Luopei, Lyu Zhangyan, Ren Jiansong, Shi Jufang, Zou Shuangmei, Li Ni, Dai Min
Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) and to provide reference for designing effective colorectal cancer (CRC) screening strategy in China.
MethodsBased on an ongoing randomized controlled trial comparing the colorectal cancer screening strategies, this current study involved 3 407 participants aged 50-74 years who had undergone colonoscopies. All the feces samples were collected from the participants prior to receiving the colonoscopy. Fecal hemoglobin (Hb) was tested by FIT following a standardized operation process. Diagnosis-related indicators of FIT were calculated using the colonoscopy results as the gold standard.
ResultsAmong the 3 407 participants, the mean age (SD) as 60.5 (6.3) years and 1 753 (51.5%) were males. The participants involved 28 (0.8%) CRCs, 255 (7.5%) advanced adenomas, 677 (19.9%) nonadvanced adenomas, and 2 447 (71.8%) benign or negative findings. With an overall positivity rate of 2.8% (96/3 407) at the recommended cutoff value of 20 μg Hb/g, the sensitivities of FIT for both CRC and advanced adenoma were 57.1% (95 %CI: 37.2%-75.5%) and 11.0% (95%CI: 7.4%-15.5%), respectively, with the corresponding specificity as 98.4% (95%CI: 97.8%-98.8%). At a decreased cut-off value of 5 μg Hb/g, the sensitivities for detecting CRC and advanced adenoma increased to 64.3% (95 %CI: 44.1%-81.4%) and 16.5% (95%CI: 12.1%-21.6%), respectively, but the specificity reduced to 95.2% (95%CI: 94.4%-95.9%). The areas under the ROC curve for CRC and advanced adenoma were 0.908 (95%CI: 0.842-0.973) and 0.657 (95%CI: 0.621-0.692), respectively. Of the diagnostic performance, there were no significant differences noticed by different sex and age groups.
ConclusionsIn our study, the quantitative FIT showed modest sensitivity in detecting CRC but limited sensitivity in detecting advanced adenoma. In population-based CRC screening programs, the quantitative FIT had the advantage of adjusting the positive threshold based on the targeted detection rate and available resource load of colonoscopy.
Key words:
Colorectal neoplasm; Quantitative fecal immunochemical testing; Screening
Contributor Information
Lu Ming
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Chen Hongda
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Liu Chengcheng
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Zhang Yuhan
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Wei Luopei
Department of Science and Development, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
Lyu Zhangyan
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
Ren Jiansong
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Shi Jufang
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Zou Shuangmei
Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Li Ni
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Dai Min
Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China