New Stool Test Detects Colorectal Cancer with 90% Accuracy, Offering Less Invasive screening Option
Geneva, Switzerland – Researchers at the university of Geneva (UNIGE) have developed a novel stool test capable of detecting colorectal cancer in 90% of cases, presenting a possibly groundbreaking alternative to invasive colonoscopies. The findings, published in Cell Host & Microbe, detail a method that analyzes the human gut microbiota at the subspecies level to identify cancer indicators.
Currently, colorectal cancer screening relies heavily on colonoscopies, which achieve a 94% detection rate but are ofen avoided due to their invasive nature. This new test offers a substantially less intrusive option, analyzing bacterial composition from a simple stool sample.
The research team, led by Professor Mirko Trajkovski of UNIGE’s Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism and Diabetes Centre, focused on bacterial subspecies – a more detailed level of analysis than previously employed. “Instead of relying on the analysis of the various species composing the microbiota, which does not capture all meaningful differences, or of bacterial strains, which vary greatly from one individual to another, we focused on an intermediate level of the microbiota, the subspecies,” explained trajkovski.
He further elaborated, “The subspecies resolution is specific and can capture the differences in how bacteria function and contribute to diseases, including cancer, while remaining general enough to detect these changes among different groups of individuals, populations, or countries.”
PhD student Matija Trickovic spearheaded the development of a comprehensive catalog of bacterial subgroups within the human gut, and a method for applying this data to both scientific research and medical diagnostics. By combining this catalogue with patient data, the team created a model capable of identifying colorectal cancer from stool samples.
The test’s 90% accuracy surpasses that of other currently available non-invasive screening methods. Researchers are now collaborating with Geneva University Hospitals to conduct a clinical trial, aiming to evaluate the test’s effectiveness across different cancer stages and lesion types.
The team believes this technique, by pinpointing subtle differences in gut bacteria, could be adapted for the non-invasive detection of a wide range of other diseases through stool sample analysis.
Journal Reference: Matija Tričković, Silas Kieser, Evgeny M. Zdobnov et al. Subspecies of the human gut microbiota carry implicit facts for in-depth microbiome research. Cell Host & Microbe. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2025.07.015
