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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2027; 33(1): 124236
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.124236
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.124236
Gut microbiota signatures in colorectal cancer: Evidence synthesis from umbrella review and probiotic intervention studies
Li-Xuan Zeng, Yu-Chen Jiang, Yi-Qing Wang, Fei Ye, Yue Ouyang, Zi-Ming Zhao, Qi-Biao Wu, Faculty of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Mechanism and Quality of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China
Hai-Bo Cheng, The First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
Hai-Bo Cheng, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Li-Xuan Zeng and Yu-Chen Jiang.
Co-corresponding authors: Qi-Biao Wu and Hai-Bo Cheng.
Author contributions: Zeng LX, Jiang YC, and Wang YQ contributed equally to this work, contributed to study conception, literature search, data extraction, quality assessment, statistical analysis, interpretation of results, and manuscript drafting; Ye F and Ouyang Y contributed to literature screening, data curation, and methodological validation; Zhao ZM contributed to study design, methodological guidance, and critical manuscript revision; Wu QB contributed to study supervision, methodological support, interpretation of findings, critical revision of the manuscript, and served as co-corresponding author; Cheng HB contributed to overall study conception, supervision, project administration, interpretation of findings, critical revision of the manuscript, and served as co-corresponding author.
AI contribution statement: The authors declare that no artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82361168663; and Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR, No. 0048/2023/AFJ, No. 0121/2022/A3, No. 0127/2023/RIA2, No. 0003/2025/NRP and No. 0164/2023/RIA3.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Hai-Bo Cheng, PhD, Chief Physician, The First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 138 Xianlin Road, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China. haibocheng@njucm.edu.cn
Received: June 10, 2026
Revised: July 13, 2026
Accepted: October 12, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 152 Days and 20.3 Hours
Revised: July 13, 2026
Accepted: October 12, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 152 Days and 20.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study synthesizes gut microbiota signatures in colorectal cancer (CRC) through two complementary components: An umbrella review with second-order meta-analysis of CRC-associated taxa, and a synthesis of probiotic or synbiotic intervention evidence. The key innovation is distinguishing frequently reported taxa from truly stable taxa across studies. The findings also suggest that probiotic or synbiotic interventions may partially reshape CRC-related dysbiosis, but higher-quality clinical evidence is still needed.