The effect of colonoscopy on whole blood gene expression profile: an experimental investigation for colorectal cancer biomarker discovery

摘要

Gene expression profiling of whole blood is showing great promise for the discovery of novel biomarkers for colorectal cancer (CRC) detection. Given the relatively low incidence rate of CRC in the general population, most blood samples collected prior to a colonoscopy were confirmed to be noncancerous afterward. Previous studies have relied on blood samples collected after a colonoscopy to reach the sufficient number of CRC cases. The present study aimed to determine the colonoscopy-induced variability in the blood transcriptome and its potential impact on biomarker discovery.