Increased use of fecal immunochemical testing correlated with more colorectal cancer screenings and early-stage diagnoses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research in JAMA Network Open.
“When CMS recommended delaying all non-urgent procedures, including screening colonoscopies, CRC screening declined by 90%,” Rachel B. Issaka, MD, MAS, Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., told Healio. “We described how stool-based tests, including the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), had the potential to improve CRC screening and detection during the pandemic, but we were curious about the exact impact this intervention could have.”