Potential of fecal microbiota for early‐stage detection of colorectal cancer. Issue 11 (November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zeller, Georg; Tap, Julien; Voigt, Anita Y; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Kultima, Jens Roat; Costea, Paul I; Amiot, Aurélien; Böhm, Jürgen; Brunetti, Francesco; Habermann, Nina; Hercog, Rajna; Koch, Moritz; Luciani, Alain; Mende, Daniel R; Schneider, Martin A; Schrotz‐King, Petra; Tournigand, Christophe; Tran Van Nhieu, Jeanne; Yamada, Takuji; Zimmermann, Jürgen; Benes, Vladimir; Kloor, Matthias; Ulrich, Cornelia M; von Knebel Doeberitz, Magnus; Sobhani, Iradj; Bork, Peer
• Is Part Of: Molecular systems biology. Volume 10:Issue 11(2014)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2014-11
• Subjects: Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Systems biology -- Periodicals; 572.8
• DOI: 10.15252/msb.20145645
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-4292

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="msb145645-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Several bacterial species have been implicated in the development of colorectal carcinoma (CRC), but CRC‐associated changes of fecal microbiota and their potential for cancer screening remain to be explored. Here, we used metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples to identify taxonomic markers that distinguished CRC patients from tumor‐free controls in a study population of 156 participants. Accuracy of metagenomic CRC detection was similar to the standard fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and when both approaches were combined, sensitivity improved &gt; 45% relative to the FOBT, while maintaining its specificity. Accuracy of metagenomic CRC detection did not differ significantly between early‐ and late‐stage cancer and could be validated in independent patient and control populations (<italic>N</italic> = 335) from different countries. CRC‐associated changes in the fecal microbiome at least partially reflected microbial community composition at the tumor itself, indicating that observed gene pool differences may reveal tumor‐related host–microbe interactions. Indeed, we deduced a metabolic shift from fiber degradation in controls to utilization of host carbohydrates and amino acids in CRC patients, accompanied by an increase of lipopolysaccharide metabolism.</p> </abstract>