Analysis of the gut’s bacterial composition may aid in the noninvasive screening for early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published Aug. 7 in Cancer Prevention Research. The ability of gut bacterial markers to differentiate healthy individuals from those with early- or advanced-stage CRC can be used as a complement to existing screening methods, the authors say. “The feasibility, lack of invasive procedures, ability to be [a] complement [to] existing screening methods (e.g., gFOBT), and the strength of signal seen in this study support the further investigation and application of microbial biomarkers from stool as a method for colorectal cancer screening,” write the authors, including senior study author Patrick D. Schloss, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He adds in a statement, “We don’t think that this would ever replace other CRC screening approaches, rather we see it as complementary.” The researchers used sequencing techniques to characterize the gut microbiome from stool samples in patients across the spectrum of CRC, including those that were healthy (n = 30), with adenoma (n = 30), and with carcinoma (n = 30). Using the Illumina MiSeq platform the researchers analyzed the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene from […]