Journal: Scientific reports
This study presents a non-invasive method for colorectal cancer (CRC) detection by analyzing host transcriptomic profiles from shed intestinal cells in stool samples.
The researchers combined microbial ribosomal RNA depletion with unique molecular identifier-based RNA sequencing to specifically enrich and quantify human RNA, overcoming the dominance of bacterial RNA in adult stool.
Applied to samples from 54 CRC patients and 24 healthy controls, this approach:
- Accurately distinguished cancer cases (AUC = 0.86).
- Showed strong correlation with tumor tissue gene expression.
- Demonstrated that stool transcriptomes normalized after tumor removal.
This method offers a promising alternative to invasive colonoscopy for CRC screening and may provide molecular insights applicable to other gastrointestinal diseases.