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qFIT
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The qFIT test is highly accurate in ruling out bowel cancer. A result below 10 µg Hb/g means there’s over a 99% chance you don’t have bowel cancer, though in rare cases (1 in 1000), it can miss cancer.
For positive results (above 10 µg Hb/g), only 1 in 10 people are later found to have cancer after further investigation. The test is designed to detect human haemoglobin, avoiding false positives from animal blood in meat.
Taking two qFIT tests improves accuracy, with one study showing that two negative qFIT tests reduce the likelihood of colorectal cancer to 0.04%.
The threshold for a positive qFIT result depends on whether you have symptoms.
With symptoms: A result above 10 µg Hb/g is positive, as the likelihood of cancer is higher.
Without symptoms: A higher threshold is used. In national screening programmes, the cut-off ranges from 80 to 120 µg Hb/g, depending on your region, which you can find here.
There is not enough evidence currently to suggest different thresholds for people of different ages, sex, or ethnicities, but we know that the risk of bowel cancer is higher for some groups.
If your result is positive, it means blood was detected in your stool. While this isn’t necessarily a cause for alarm, it does require further investigation.
We’ll recommend that you share your result with your doctor, who may repeat the test or order additional investigations to determine the cause of bleeding.
Reassuringly, 9 out of 10 positive results are not due to bowel cancer.
The key difference between the FIT test and the qFIT test is how results are reported:
The FIT test is qualitative, providing a simple positive or negative result based on whether blood exceeds a set threshold.
The qFIT test is quantitative, measuring the exact amount of blood (haemoglobin) in the stool, reported in µg Hb/g, allowing for more precise and personalised decision-making.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. It’s more common in people over 50, but it can affect anyone of any age. You’re more likely to get bowel cancer if you have a close relative who’s had bowel cancer, you smoke, you’re overweight, have inflammatory bowel disease, or bowel polyps.
Fortunately, when bowel cancer is caught early, it’s a very treatable condition.
