Sensitivity of hemoccult testing in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

This paper is a retrospective study of 100 sequentially selected cases of colorectal carcinoma treated at The Roosevelt Hospital between 1978 and 1983. In 44 of these patients, the admitting physical digital rectal examination was hemoccult-negative (HN). This group of patients showed no significant difference in tumor location, stage, size, or in presenting symptoms when compared with the 56 patients who were found to be hemoccult-positive (HP). It is concluded that a negative stool hemoccult examination should not alter the course of the patient's work-up if any suspicion of colorectal carcinoma exists. Furthermore, hemoccult sensitivity does not appear to be affected by the size, location or Dukes' classification of a colorectal neoplasm.