Immunological determination of fecal hemoglobin and transferrin levels: a comparison with other fecal occult blood tests.

Immunological determination of fecal hemoglobin and transferrin levels was performed in inpatients on an unrestricted diet, including patients with colon cancer or polyps and a control group. When hemoglobin levels of 5.1 micrograms/g feces and transferrin levels of 0.4 microgram/g feces were designated as positive, 48 of the 60 fecal specimens from colon cancer patients were positive. This result was significantly superior to that for another fecal occult blood immunological test (FECA-EIA) (p less than 0.005), and similar to the results of two chemical tests (guaiac and Hemoccult). Twenty-eight of the 78 fecal specimens from patients with colonic polyps were positive, again a result superior to the FECA-EIA (p less than 0.005) and similar to the chemical tests. Three of the 99 control fecal specimens were positive, which was a similar result to that obtained with the FECA-EIA and significantly superior to the chemical tests (both p less than 0.005). Thus, combined detection of fecal hemoglobin and transferrin levels can be used as a fecal occult blood test in patients without dietary restriction.