Medical Health Encyclopedia

Even if none of these conditions is present, a test that shows hidden (occult) blood does not necessarily mean that cancer is present. About 20% to 30% of people with occult blood have noncancerous polyps or other conditions, such as gastritis, and only 5% to 10% actually have cancer. Any abnormal result, however, requires further testing, such as colonoscopy.

Lack of Compliance. Compliance is a major problem. Patients are asked to perform the tests at home and send the test cards to the laboratory; only 35% to 50% of patients actually follow through. Occult-blood tests that give results at home are available but are extremely inaccurate. In one large study, these tests failed to detect advanced cancer in about 62% of cases, although they may detect some early cancers.

Visualizing the Colon: Colonoscopy, Sigmoidoscopy, and Barium Enema

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If a digital rectal exam (DRE) or fecal occult blood test (FOBT) shows signs of trouble, several methods to visualize the colon are available. They include colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and double-contrast barium enema. They have the following similarities and differences:

• Sigmoidoscopy can only view the rectum and the left side of the colon, while colonoscopy and barium enemas allow a view of the entire large intestine.
• Both flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy involve snaking a fiber optic tube through regions of the rectum and colon to view the walls of the intestine. The tube contains a tiny camera that transmits the image to a video screen. The use of an ultrasound (sound wave) scanner is proving to enhance viewing quality. Barium enemas simply use x-rays.
• During either sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, the physician is able to remove polyps or other abnormalities revealed by these procedures with surgical instruments inserted through the tube. It is not possible to remove polyps with a barium enema, which is not invasive.