Figure 4.

The role of gut microbiota in CRC diagnosis and treatment. Detection of fecal bacteria including F. nucleatum, serum antibodies against F. nucleatum and gut microbiota metabolites including BAs and SCFAs could play roles in CRC screening. Fecal bacteria including two species of Bacteroides, Lachnospiraceae, Clostridiales, and Clostridium could be used to detect adenomas. F. nucleatum can be used in prognostic predictions for CRC patients. Treatment methods including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy could disturb microbial community, while the composition of the gut microbiota could, in turn, affect the treatments. Methods including supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics and their metabolites, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) could modify gut microbiota composition in order to treat CRC.