Prediagnostic antibody responses to Fusobacterium nucleatum proteins are not associated with risk of colorectal cancer in a large United States consortium.

BACKGROUND The association between prediagnostic antibody responses to Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) and subsequent risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) is not established. METHODS We conducted a nested case-control study of 8,126 participants in a consortium of 10 prospective cohorts in the United States. RESULTS Higher seroprevalence of any F. nucleatum antibody was observed among non-White participants (51.1%) compared to White participants (31.2%). We did not find any statistically significant association between seropositivity to any of the eight F. nucleatum proteins and CRC risk. CONCLUSIONS Prediagnostic antibody responses to F. nucleatum proteins were not associated with the risk of CRC. IMPACT Future studies may consider a more specific detection of the immunoglobulin isotypes or focus on examining F. nucleatum in stool or tissue samples.