SynthesisBMC medicine2022
Short-chain fatty acid concentrations in the incidence and risk-stratification of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of probiotic supplementation on faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrition journal · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effect of fecal bile acids on the incidence and risk-stratification of colorectal cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Short-chain fatty acids and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Tolerance of high fibre supplementation among participants in a randomised trial to reduce cancer risk among Alaska Native peoples: Alaska FIRST.International journal of circumpolar health · 2025Trial
- Gut microbiota and diet in colorectal cancer: Converging determinants of carcinogenesis.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- High dietary BGut microbes · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as context-dependent modulators of Nrf2 signaling in inflammation-driven carcinogenesis.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Propionate promotes CD8Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Article
- Review
- Gut microbiota in health and disease.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Sleep duration, selected circulating biomarkers, and colorectal cancer risk.European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP) · 2026Article
- Anti-Cancer Effects of Quercetin: What Role Does the Gut Microbiota Play?Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as immune modulators in aging and age-related chronic inflammatory diseases.Ageing research reviews · 2026Review
- Enhanced fructooligosaccharides synthesis by engineered Trichoderma atroviride β-fructofuranosidase.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Gut dysbiosis in oncology: a risk factor for immunoresistance.Cell research · 2026Review
- Interconnection between gut microbial metabolites and mitochondrial ROS production: implications for cellular health.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2026Review
- Colorectal laterally spreading tumors exhibit a distinct carcinogenic eco-metabolic shift defined by multi-omics profiling.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- The microbiota-metabolite-immune axis in colorectal cancer: mechanistic insights and emerging clinical applications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe beneficial role of gut microbiota and bacterial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), is well recognized, although the available literature around their role in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been inconsistent.
methodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the associations of fecal SCFA concentrations to the incidence and risk of CRC. Data extraction through Medline, Embase, and Web of Science was carried out from database conception to June 29, 2022. Predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria led to the selection of 17 case-control and six cross-sectional studies for quality assessment and analyses. Studies were categorized for CRC risk or incidence, and RevMan 5.4 was used to perform the meta-analyses. Standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. Studies lacking quantitation were included in qualitative analyses.
resultsCombined analysis of acetic, propionic, and butyric acid revealed significantly lower concentrations of these SCFAs in individuals with a high-risk of CRC (SMD = 2.02, 95% CI 0.31 to 3.74, P = 0.02). Additionally, CRC incidence was higher in individuals with lower levels of SCFAs (SMD = 0.45, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.72, P = 0.0009), compared to healthy individuals. Qualitative analyses identified 70.4% of studies reporting significantly lower concentrations of fecal acetic, propionic, butyric acid, or total SCFAs in those at higher risk of CRC, while 66.7% reported significantly lower concentrations of fecal acetic and butyric acid in CRC patients compared to healthy controls.
conclusionsOverall, lower fecal concentrations of the three major SCFAs are associated with higher risk of CRC and incidence of CRC.
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Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.