Simple at-home stool tests are a reliable way to screen for colon cancer and a good alternative to invasive colonoscopies, according to this new research review.

A new study conducted by Thomas F. Imperiale and his team at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute confirm and support the recommendations that average risk patients can safely opt for an annual, easy-to-use home stool test instead of a screening colonoscopy.

The review, published on Feb. 25 2019 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine is based on more than 120,000 patients who had FIT screening and a subsequent colonoscopy. The researchers looked at data from 31 studies that compared the performance of FIT tests to colonoscopies. 

For the FIT screening, a doctor supplies a test kit for patients to use at home. Different manufacturers make FITs. Depending on the specific test, the review found, a one-time screening caught around three-quarters to 91 percent of colon cancers.

That makes a one-time FIT less sensitive than a one-time colonoscopy. But, Imperiale pointed out, FIT screening is done yearly, while colonoscopy is done every 10 years.

SOURCE:Thomas F. Imperiale, Rachel N. Gruber,Timothy E. Stump, Thomas W. Emmett, Patrick O. Monahan. Test Characteristics of Fecal Immunochemical Tests for Colorectal Cancer and Advanced Adenomatous Polyps: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis; Feb. 26, 2019, Annals of Internal Medicine.