what might the presence of occult blood in stools indicate?
Presence of occult fecal blood in stool is often used as an indicator of peptic ulcers or colorectal cancer, depending on what other signs/symptoms are present. It's important to note that a POSITIVE test for occult blood does NOT automatically mean cancer. It is simply a sign that needs further investigation, usually by an colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy or endoscopy to establish the root cause.