title: FIT: a valuable but underutilized screening test for colorectal cancer-it's time for a change.
abstract: Although fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) have been used for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in several countries for years, this has not been the case in the United States. The reasons for this are multifactorial, but if the United States hopes to increase screening rates, the evidence is in regarding FIT's benefits and potential. A publication in this issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology provides "gold standard" evidence of its superiority over the standard guaiac test and opens opportunities for investigators to discover the most effective uses of this test for population screening.
authors.affiliation: Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, Oakland, California, USA. jallison@medsfgh.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Allison
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D006138:Guaiac; D006801:Humans; D007120:Immunochemistry; D009780:Occult Blood
chemical_list: D006138:Guaiac