Colorectal cancer, the third most prevalent cancer globally, is a relatively slow-moving disease. This means it takes a long period of time before reaching its final, fatal stages.
Therefore, early detection is crucial to ensuring effective treatment.
The gut has a population of organisms that live within it, called the gut microbiome, which is linked to human health and disease.
In a recent study from Osaka University in Japan, researchers found that changes in the gut microbiome could play a big role in the early detection of colon cancer.
The finding is published in Nature Medicine Letters. One author is Shinichi Yachida.
Previous studies have shown that testing the genetic changes in fecal samples can accurately see the status of the gut microbiome. This may be useful for the early diagnosis of many diseases.
In the study, the team examined fecal samples from a little over 600 patients who underwent colonoscopy.
They found that increases in specific microbiome organisms that are linked to the malignancies linked to colorectal cancer.
These specific markers could help distinguish cases of colon cancer from healthy samples.
The team believes that colon cancer is fundamentally not only a genetic but also a microbial disease.
Changes in the gut microbiome are present at the very early stages of colon cancer development.
This could potentially provide vital diagnostic clues for this disease.
Future studies will focus on the relationship between the gut microbiome and tumor characteristics in individual patients with colorectal cancer.
This will help scientists understand the roles of the gut microbiome in the development of colorectal cancer.
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