New fecal occult blood tests may improve adherence and mortality rates.

Several new fecal occult blood tests have advantages over older ones when used for colorectal cancer screening. Fecal immunochemical tests can detect antibodies to human globin in the stool and can be used without the dietary restrictions needed with traditional guaiac tests. Although colonoscopy is often considered the gold standard, we hope that these new tests will allow more people to be screened and more cases of colorectal cancer to be detected early.