ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the value of the quantitative fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for primary colorectal cancer screening in health check-up population.Methods:A total of 468 health check-up participants who underwent quantitative FIT and colonoscopy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled into this study. The participants were divided into two groups-the negative group(FIT<100 μg/L)and the positive group(FIT≥100 μg/L) according to the results of the quantitative FIT. We compared the detection rate of colorectal polyps and colorectal advanced cancer between the two groups, and analyzed the sensitivity and specificity of the quantitative FIT for advanced colorectal cancer and the risk factors of colorectal polyps.Results:The positive rate of quantitative FIT in the healthy population was about 4.6% (95% CI: 4.27%-4.93%). The detection rate of colorectal polyps in the positive group was significantly higher than that of the negative group (51.53%, 95% CI: 45.81%-57.25%) vs (34.28%, 95% CI: 27.25%-41.31%, P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the quantitative FIT for advanced colorectal cancer was 98.55% and 56.77%, respectively. The positive predictive value of the quantitative FIT for advanced colorectal cancer was 50.37%, while the negative predictive value was 98.88%. With the increase of FIT value, the detection rate of advanced cancer was increased (χ2 =20.08, P<0.001). The multivariate logistic regression of colorectal cancer suggested that the risk of colorectal polyps in patients with a history of diabetes was significantly higher ( OR=3.28, 95% CI: 1.45-7.41, P=0.004); the risk of colorectal polyps in men was also significantly higher ( OR=3.05, 95% CI: 1.40-6.65, P=0.005). Conclusions:Quantitative FIT is an ideal non-invasive examination for primary colorectal cancer screening for a health check-up population. Patients with negative FIT are less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Diabetes history, male, and age are independent risk factors for colorectal cancer.