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CC BY 4.0 · Journal of Coloproctology 2024; 44(01): e17-e21
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1785212
Original Article

Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders in Patients with Positive Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) and Normal Colonoscopy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sahar Ravanshad    *
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
,
Atefeh Golhasani   *
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
,
Hassan Mehrad-Majd
2   Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
,
Mohammadhossein Taherynejad 
3   Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
,
Ali Beheshti Namdar
4   Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
› Author Affiliations Funding The authors declare that present study was funded by the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (research no. 981667).
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Abstract

Introduction Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most prevalent cancer in the world, and the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) can be mentioned among the CRC screening methods based on the detection of occult blood in the feces, which may indicate upper gastrointestinal (UGI) malignancies; therefore, patients with a positive FIT but normal colonoscopy may be considered for a UGI endoscopy.

Materials and Methods The present study was conducted on patients with a positive FIT who were submitted to colonoscopy with normal results. They subsequently underwent endoscopy for the detection of UGI disorders.

Results We included 121 patients (64.5% of women and 35.5% of men; average age: 58.85 ± 12.93 years), 72.7% of whom were positive for Helicobacter pylori. The predominant result of the UGI endoscopy was normal, followed by erythema of the gastric mucosa, and anemia and dyspepsia were the most common clinical findings. The most common pathological result was chronic gastritis, followed by acute gastritis. Only one patient presented stomach cancer (adenocarcinoma).

Conclusion Considering the small prevalence of cancer in the UGI endoscopies of patients with positive FIT and normal colonoscopy, to the performance of UGI endoscopy in these patients may not be necessary.

Keywords

fecal immunochemical test - cancer - colonoscopy - Helicobacter pylori

Data Reproducibility

The data of the present study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.


Authors' Contribution

Study concept and design: SR and ABN; data collection: AG; statistical analysis: HM-M; drafting of the manuscript: MT, SR, and HM-M; study supervision: SR and ABN.


* These authors contributed equally to the present study.




Publication History

Received: 29 August 2023

Accepted: 10 January 2024

Article published online:
11 March 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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