A prospective study of a new immunochemical fecal occult blood test in Korean patients referred for colonoscopy

OBJECTIVES: The exquisite performance characteristics of an immunochemical fecal occult blood test (IFOBT) are well understood. We evaluated the diagnostic validity of a new IFOBT for colorectal neoplasia in patients undergoing colonoscopy and compared its results with two other commercially available IFOBTs. DESIGN AND METHODS: Eighty-five consecutive patients referred for colonoscopy were studied. We performed three different IFOBTs, namely, HM-Jack, Instant-View, and a newly developed OcculTech on each fecal specimen. RESULTS: OcculTech was easy to perform and had a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 58.3%, 76.3%, and 27.9%, respectively, for the detection of colorectal cancers and >or=1 cm adenomas. OcculTech showed higher sensitivity than the automatic analyzer, HM-Jack. No improvement was obtained by combining tests. CONCLUSIONS: The OcculTech test had performance characteristics comparable to the two other IFOBTs. This study confirms the usefulness of the OcculTech test for colorectal neoplasia screening.