Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai researchers found 75 percent of people prefer to do a fecal immunochemical test rather than a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer.
The study, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, surveyed 1,000 people aged 40 years and older who had not yet been screened for colorectal cancer. They were given two options: yearly FITs or a colonoscopy every 10 years. Three-fourths chose yearly FITs.
"With the FIT test, there's no change of diet, no anesthesia, and you can do it at home," Christopher Almario, MD, assistant professor of medicine and corresponding author on the study, said. "If it's negative, then you repeat it a year later. If it's positive, you do need to come in and get a colonoscopy so we can find the cancer if it’s there[,] as well as remove any pre-cancerous polyps."