LAUSR

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common causes of cancer-related mortality.1 For the purpose of population-based CRC screening, faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) have been widely accepted.2 FIT can both be used in a qualitative manner, leading to either a positive or negative result, or a quantitative manner resulting in the reporting of microgram faecal haemoglobin (Hb) per gram faeces. Screenees with a FIT result above a prespecified threshold are referred for colonoscopy. A higher faecal Hb concentration is associated with a higher risk of advanced neoplasia.3 4 Most screening programmes use quantitative FIT. The results are however habitually reported in a dichotomised manner (ie, below or above a prespecified threshold). Such a dichotomised strategy subsequently misses out on countless possibilities in which the exact faecal Hb concentration could guide clinical decision-making. One of these possibilities is the use of negative FIT results, in other words faecal Hb concentrations below the accepted cut-off, as a predictor for the risk of advanced neoplasia in following screening rounds. The beautiful paper by Senore and colleagues in Gut provides additional support for this concept in exploring the predictive value of faecal Hb …