Long-lasting gut microbiome and fecal metabolome alterations after colorectal adenoma removal and their relationship to colorectal cancer

Highlights

•  The gut microbiome a decade after adenoma resection partially resembles that in CRC
•  Adenoma-CRC shared microbes strongly correlate with lifestyle factors
•  Sphingolipid enrichment characterizes the adenoma fecal metabolome
•  Adenoma-specific microbe-metabolite links emerge independent of abundance shifts

 

Although the gut microbiome is implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC), microbiome and metabolome alterations along the adenoma-carcinoma sequence remain unclear. Here, we profile stool metagenomes obtained from 354 women 12.1 ± 4.8 years following adenoma resection and from their 1:1-matched controls, as well as stool metabolomes from 184 pairs. Metagenomic profiles are compared with those from 14 independent CRC case-control studies.

 

Microbial composition differs between adenoma cases and controls and agrees with CRC-associated alterations (Pearson’s rho = 0.26, p < 0.0001). Thirty-one microbes, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Flavonifractor plautii, are altered in both conditions and correlate with lifestyle factors. Thirty metabolites and 7 sub-pathways, particularly sphingolipids, are associated with adenomas. Adenomas also exhibit disease-specific microbe-metabolite associations, including those between Bilophila wadsworthia and alanine-containing dipeptides.

 

These findings reveal gut microbial and metabolomic alterations detectable years after adenoma resection, supporting the presence of an altered microbiome along the adenoma-CRC continuum.

 

 

for more information:

Nogal, Ana, et al. "Long-lasting gut microbiome and fecal metabolome alterations after colorectal adenoma removal and their relationship to colorectal cancer." Cell Host & Microbe (2026). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2026.05.001