A new research has revealed that analysis of a gut bacteria along with other tests could provide unprecedented help in identifying patients with invasive colorectal cancer and those with precancerous polyps.

Published in the journal Caner Prevention Research, the study has showed that the examination of gut microbiome in combination with tests of the fecal occult blood samples and assessment of the clinical risks are highly accurate for screening colorectal cancer.

For the study, the researchers asked 90 people to provide their stool samples. Of them, 30 people had precancerous polyps, another 30 had colorectal cancer and remaining 30 were healthy ones. In each group, the researchers came across unique bacteria signatures in the colon. The researchers also considered factors like the age, BMI and race of the people while examining the microbiome signatures.

This new technique is highly effective if used with other procedures and tests currently used by medics for the screening of colorectal cancer.

"A person's gut microbiome is the collection of all the bacteria in their gut. The number of bacteria in the gut is huge; it outnumbers the number of cells in our bodies 10 to one, and the diversity of the bacteria present is critical to our health", said Patrick D. Schloss, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

They were able to successfully identify the bacteria present in each individual's gut microbiome by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.

Schloss said the study results have proved that gut microbiome analysis is a brilliant tool to screen patients for colorectal cancer.