Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a novel liquid biopsy test detecting microbiome-derived cell-free RNA methylation modifications that predict colorectal cancer with higher accuracy than existing non-invasive methods. Using a new sequencing method, LIME-seq, the team quantified RNA chemical modifications from plasma samples and found that microbial RNA modification patterns serve as robust biomarkers for early cancer detection. This approach overcomes prior challenges arising from low tumor DNA levels in early disease. The findings, reported in Nature Biotechnology, suggest microbiome RNA methylations as promising diagnostic and prognostic indicators for colorectal cancer.