A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) looks at a sample of your stool (poop) to check for blood. Occult blood means that you can't see it with the naked eye. And fecal means that it is in your stool.
Blood in your stool means there is bleeding in the digestive tract. The bleeding may be caused by a variety of conditions, including:
- Polyps, abnormal growths on the lining of the colon or rectum
- Hemorrhoids, swollen veins in your anus or rectum
- Diverticulosis, a condition with small pouches in the inside wall of the colon
- Ulcers, sores in the lining of the digestive tract
- Colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease
- Colorectal cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the colon or rectum
- Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the United States. A fecal occult blood test can screen for colorectal cancer to help find the disease early when treatment may be most effective.
Other names: FOBT, stool occult blood, occult blood test, Hemoccult test, guaiac smear test, gFOBT, Immunochemical FOBT, iFOBT; FIT