Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32949085›Full record

ArticleBJS open2020

Accuracy of faecal immunochemical testing in patients with symptomatic colorectal cancer.

A A Khan, M Klimovskij, R Harshen

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BJS open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. National cancer screening program for colorectal cancer in Korea.Annals of surgical treatment and research · 2023
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Prevalence of repeat faecal immunochemical testing in symptomatic patients attending primary care.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2022
    Observational
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. The use of the faecal immunochemical test during the COVID-19 pandemic to triage urgent colorectal cancer referrals.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2022
    Observational
  16. Article
  17. Observational
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

A A KhanDepartments of Surgery, Conquest Hospital, St Leonards-on-Sea, and Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1562-2577
M KlimovskijDepartments of Surgery, Conquest Hospital, St Leonards-on-Sea, and Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, UK.
R HarshenDepartments of Surgery, Conquest Hospital, St Leonards-on-Sea, and Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, UK.
Conquest Hospital · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for detecting colorectal cancer in symptomatic patients.

methodsThis was a prospective study of patients with bowel symptoms. Stool samples were collected during rectal examination. The HM-JACKarc assay (Kyowa Medex, Tokyo, Japan) was used to quantify faecal haemoglobin (Hb); positive results were those with at least 10 μg Hb/g faeces. Two-by-two tables and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to determine diagnostic accuracy; χ

resultsA total of 928 patients were included (M : F ratio 1 : 1·5; median age 72 (i.q.r. 64-80) years). The overall prevalence of colorectal cancer was 5·1 per cent. The FIT had sensitivity of 85·1 per cent, specificity of 83·5 per cent, positive predictive value of 22·6 per cent and negative predictive value of 99·0 per cent. ROC analysis of FIT for diagnosing colorectal cancer gave an area under the curve value of 0·89 (95 per cent c.i. 0·84 to 0·94). Significant bowel pathology was detected more frequently in FIT-positive patients (35·1 per cent versus 7·1 per cent in FIT-negative patients; P < 0·001). There were sex differences in FIT positivity (23·7 per cent in men versus 17·4 per cent in women; P = 0·019); the sensitivity of FIT for colorectal cancer in women was also low. False-negative FIT results were found mainly in women referred with iron-deficiency anaemia, who were found to have caecal cancer.

conclusionFIT effectively excluded colorectal cancer in symptomatic patients. Integration of FIT into the diagnostic pathway for colorectal cancer would direct resources appropriately to patients with a greater likelihood of having the disease.

Identifiers

PMID32949085
PMCPMC7709370
OpenAlexW3087374392

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.