Bowel cancer screening programmes could be more accurate if people perform the test twice, a new study suggests. Academics from the University of Edinburgh found that the test – which looks for hidden blood in faeces – becomes nearly 100% accurate when people test twice, 13 days apart.
Each of the bowel cancer screening programmes in the UK use home tests called the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). These at-home test tests require home sampling which is sent off to a lab in the post.
Scientists can then use the samples to detect tiny amounts of blood and if this is found people are invited in for further tests. Now experts have found that the accuracy of detecting bowel cancer in these tests is increased to almost 100% by carrying out the test twice, rather than once.
