Gut microbiome analysis effective screening tool for colorectal cancer

Analysis of the gut microbiome more successfully distinguishes healthy individuals from those with precancerous adenomatous polyps and those with invasive colorectal cancer than assessment of clinical risk factors and foecal occult blood testing, according to data published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "A person's gut microbiome is the collection of all the bacteria in their gut," said Patrick D. Schloss, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.