Identification of microbial markers across populations in early detection of colorectal cancer

Associations between gut microbiota and colorectal cancer (CRC) have been widely investigated. However, the replicable markers for early-stage adenoma diagnosis across multiple populations remain elusive. Here, we perform an integrated analysis on 1056 public fecal samples, to identify adenoma-associated microbial markers for early detection of CRC. After adjusting for potential confounders, Random Forest classifiers are constructed with 11 markers to discriminate adenoma from control (area under the ROC curve (AUC)=0.80), and 26 markers to discriminate adenoma from CRC (AUC=0.89), respectively. Moreover, we validate the classifiers in two independent cohorts achieving AUCs of 0.78 and 0.84, respectively. Functional analysis reveals that the altered microbiome is characterized with increased ADP-l-glycero-beta-d-manno-heptose biosynthesis in adenoma and elevated menaquinone-10 biosynthesis in CRC. These findings are validated in a newly-collected cohort of 43 samples using quantitative real-time PCR. This work proves the validity of adenoma-specific markers across multi-populations, which would contribute to the early diagnosis and treatment of CRC. The gut microbiome plays an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis and predictive microbiome signatures have been proposed for colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis. Here the authors perform a meta-analysis of 16S rRNA-based profiles to identify microbial markers able to discriminate patients with adenoma from control and CRC, building a model that can be applied for the early detection of CRC.

Automated summary

The study identifies microbial markers associated with adenoma, aiding in early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) through integrated analysis of public fecal samples. Classification models constructed based on the markers show promising results in discriminating adenoma from control and CRC, with potential clinical implications in multi-population settings.