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Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2021

01-12-2021 | Colonoscopy | Research article

A fecal-based test for the detection of advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer: a case-control and screening cohort study

Authors: Lian-Jing Cao, Xiao-Lin Peng, Wen-Qiong Xue, Rong Zhang, Jiang-Bo Zhang, Ting Zhou, Zi-Yi Wu, Gai-Rui Li, Tong-Min Wang, Yong-Qiao He, Da-Wei Yang, Ying Liao, Xia-Ting Tong, Fang Wang, Ke-Xin Chen, Shi-Hong Zhang, Li-Qing Zhu, Pei-Rong Ding, Wei-Hua Jia

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Screening is a confirmed way to reduce the incidence and mortality rates of CRC. This study aimed to identify a fecal-based, noninvasive, and accurate method for detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) and advanced adenoma (AA).

Methods

Through detection in tissue (n = 96) and fecal samples (n = 88) and tested in an independent group of fecal samples (n = 294), the methylated DNA marker ITGA4 and bacterial markers Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) and Pepetostreptococcusanaerobius (Pa) were identified from the candidate biomarkers for CRC and AA detection. A prediction score (pd-score) was constructed using the selected markers and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for distinguishing AA and CRC from healthy subjects by logistic regression method. The diagnostic performance of the pd-score was compared with FIT and validated in the external validation cohort (n = 117) and in a large CRC screening cohort.

Results

The pd-score accurately identified AA and CRC from healthy subjects with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.958, at a specificity of 91.37%; the pd-score showed sensitivities of 95.38% for CRC and 70.83% for AA, respectively. In the external validation cohort, the sensitivities of the pd-score for CRC and AA detection were 94.03% and 80.00%, respectively. When applied in screening, the pd-score identified 100% (11/11) of CRC and 70.83% (17/24) of AA in participants with both colonoscopy results and qualified fecal samples, showing an improvement by 41.19% compared to FIT.

Conclusions

The current study developed a noninvasive and well-validated approach for AA and CRC detection, which could be applied widely as a diagnostic and screening test.
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Metadata
Title
A fecal-based test for the detection of advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer: a case-control and screening cohort study
Authors
Lian-Jing Cao
Xiao-Lin Peng
Wen-Qiong Xue
Rong Zhang
Jiang-Bo Zhang
Ting Zhou
Zi-Yi Wu
Gai-Rui Li
Tong-Min Wang
Yong-Qiao He
Da-Wei Yang
Ying Liao
Xia-Ting Tong
Fang Wang
Ke-Xin Chen
Shi-Hong Zhang
Li-Qing Zhu
Pei-Rong Ding
Wei-Hua Jia
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02123-0

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