Research Finds Safer Way to Detect Colon Polyps

Microbiota signatures unique to specific precancerous colon polyps may lead to better tests with less risk

The key is to discover the polyp before they become cancerous. peterschreiber.media/Shutterstock

A new study conducted by researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital linked precancerous colon polyps to specific gut bacteria.

Published in Cell Host & Microbe, the study compared the stool samples and colonoscopies of 971 participants. Stool samples were used to get a snapshot of the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live primarily in the colon.