Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40789726›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Role of gut microbiome in colorectal cancer: a comprehensive umbrella review protocol.

Maheeka Seneviwickrama, Kamani M Gunasekera, Kumindu Gamage, Madhusha Gonapaladeniya, Sriyani Ranasinghe

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Maheeka SeneviwickramaCentre for Cancer Research, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka maheeka@sjp.ac.lk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4182-284X
Kamani M GunasekeraDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1132-5121
Kumindu GamageIndependent Researcher, Kandy, Sri Lanka.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-4588-6355
Madhusha GonapaladeniyaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4501-1198
Sriyani RanasingheDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3791-2674

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death globally. Growing evidence links gut microbiota dysbiosis to CRC, with several reviews reporting consistent microbial alterations in CRC patients that may serve as non-invasive biomarkers. However, findings vary across studies, and consensus on key microbial taxa is lacking. This umbrella review aims to clarify: (1) the association between gut microbiome composition and CRC development/progression, (2) specific microbial taxa linked to CRC risk, (3) the role of microbiome diversity in CRC outcomes and (4) potential microbial biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This umbrella review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Umbrella Review Guidelines and adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews. A comprehensive search will be conducted across MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, CINAHL and key systematic review databases, including the Cochrane Database, JBI Evidence Synthesis and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, without language restrictions. The search strategy will use a combination of Medical Subject Headings terms and free-text keywords with Boolean operators. The review questions were developed using the Population, Concept and Context framework. Only high-quality (as determined by the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses), peer-reviewed quantitative systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses will be included. Overall effect estimates extracted from systematic reviews, with the number of studies that inform the outcome, will be presented. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval is required since the work is carried out on published documents. Findings of this review will be disseminated among relevant stakeholders through multiple scientific avenues, including presentations at both national and international forums and manuscript publication in an open-access journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO 2025 CRD420251035257. Available from:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251035257.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsDysbiosisGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicAnus NeoplasmsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeGastrointestinal tumoursMicrobiota

Identifiers

PMID40789726
PMCPMC12352221

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.