The Clinical Biochemistry department at Peterborough City Hospital currently offers the Faecal Occult Blood test (FOB) for all users. The department has recently been contributing to an STP programme to replace this test with a superior alternative, Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). Both tests are used for the testing of blood in faeces in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer, however the FOB test should only be used in population screening of asymptomatic patients, whereas FIT can be used for triaging symptomatic patients for colonoscopies.

Due to a supplier issue, we have been forced to withdraw the FOB service with immediate effect. The FOB test has been made obsolete in a majority of labs, and we can advise that patients with symptoms of colorectal cancer should be referred via the 2WW pathway, and patients without symptoms should be tested via the national screening programme (and not at local laboratories).

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough STP project for Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) in Primary Care is currently planning the roll-out of FIT regionally. This test will then be available to all service users of the Pathology department at Peterborough City Hospital. This roll out is expected to commence late February/March 2019.

Please contact the laboratory if any further information is required (peh-tr.chemimm@nhs.net [1]).