A new machine learning platform can identify patients with colorectal cancer and helps predict their disease severity and survival, according to a study involving samples from thousands of subjects. The noninvasive method adds to recent advances in technologies that analyze circulating tumor DNA and could help spot colorectal cancers in at-risk patients at earlier stages.Like many other malignancies, colorectal cancers are most treatable if they are detected before they have metastasized to other tissues. Colonoscopies are the “gold standard” for diagnosis, but they are uncomfortable and invasive and can lead to complications, which leaves patients less willing to undergo screening.Lead researcher Huiyan Luo and colleagues leveraged machine learning techniques to develop a less
