Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Background: We previously reported a panel of novel faecal microbiome gene markers for diagnosis of colorectal adenoma and cancer.
Aim: To evaluate whether these markers are useful in detecting adenoma recurrence after polypectomy.
Methods: Subjects were enrolled in a polyp surveillance study from 2009 to 2019. Stool samples were collected before bowel preparation of index colonoscopy (baseline) and surveillance colonoscopy (follow-up). Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), Lachnoclostridium marker (m3), Clostridium hathewayi (Ch) and Bacteroides clarus were quantified in baseline and follow-up samples by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to correlate with adenoma recurrence. Recurrence was defined as new adenomas detected >6 months after polypectomy. Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) was performed for comparison.
Results: A total of 161 baseline and 104 follow-up samples were analysed. Among patients with adenoma recurrence, Fn and m3 increased (both P < 0.05) while Ch were unchanged in follow-up versus baseline samples. Among patients without recurrence, Fn and m3 were unchanged while Ch decreased (P < 0.05) in follow-up versus baseline samples. Logistic regression that included changes of m3, Fn and Chat follow-up compared with baseline achieved an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.95 (95%CI: 0.84–0.99) with 90.0% sensitivity and 87.0% specificity for detecting recurrent adenoma. Combination of
