Title: Association between colorectal cancer, the frequency of Bacteroides fragilis, and the
levels of mismatch repair genes expression in the biopsy samples of Iranian patients
Version: 4 Date: 09 Jan 2024
Reviewer:  Oscar Medina-Contreras
Reviewer's report:
The authors submitted an improved version of the manuscript. However, a few issues remain.
The first paragraph in the introduction states that CRC is both the second and third cause of
death. Please correct this.
The introduction is structured to the idea of using non-invasive methods; however, biopsy
is not non-invasive, and there is no further discussion of this notion. Further, the discussion
also proposes biomarkers for early diagnosis. Still, the authors don’t evaluate if the increased
expression of MMR genes and its association with the presence of B. fragilis also occurs at early
time points, as the source of the samples in this study was CRC patients. There is no comparison
with healthy (not suspected of CRC) individuals to show these could be used indeed as early
diagnosis biomarkers. The author must avoid making these assumptions with their current data
or have the appropriate controls.
The last paragraph in the results states that nhl1 expression increases 7-fold. In the discussion,
this value is referred to as 5-fold. Please correct the discrepancies.
Rephrase for better clarity "Patients who molecular diagnostic tests positive/higher expression
for any risk marker become candidates for an intervention or for surveillance"
Title: Association between colorectal cancer, the frequency of Bacteroides fragilis, and the
levels of mismatch repair genes expression in the biopsy samples of Iranian patients
Version: 4 Date: 09 Jan 2024
Reviewer:  Oscar Medina-Contreras
Reviewer's report:
The authors submitted an improved version of the manuscript. However, a few issues remain.
The first paragraph in the introduction states that CRC is both the second and third cause of
death. Please correct this.
The introduction is structured to the idea of using non-invasive methods; however, biopsy
is not non-invasive, and there is no further discussion of this notion. Further, the discussion
also proposes biomarkers for early diagnosis. Still, the authors don’t evaluate if the increased
expression of MMR genes and its association with the presence of B. fragilis also occurs at early
time points, as the source of the samples in this study was CRC patients. There is no comparison
with healthy (not suspected of CRC) individuals to show these could be used indeed as early
diagnosis biomarkers. The author must avoid making these assumptions with their current data
or have the appropriate controls.
The last paragraph in the results states that nhl1 expression increases 7-fold. In the discussion,
this value is referred to as 5-fold. Please correct the discrepancies.
Rephrase for better clarity "Patients who molecular diagnostic tests positive/higher expression
for any risk marker become candidates for an intervention or for surveillance"
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Association between colorectal cancer, the frequency of Bacteroides fragilis, and the
levels of mismatch repair genes expression in the biopsy samples of Iranian patients
Version: 4 Date: 09 Jan 2024
Reviewer:  Oscar Medina-Contreras
Reviewer's report:
The authors submitted an improved version of the manuscript. However, a few issues remain.
The first paragraph in the introduction states that CRC is both the second and third cause of
death. Please correct this.
The introduction is structured to the idea of using non-invasive methods; however, biopsy
is not non-invasive, and there is no further discussion of this notion. Further, the discussion
also proposes biomarkers for early diagnosis. Still, the authors don’t evaluate if the increased
expression of MMR genes and its association with the presence of B. fragilis also occurs at early
time points, as the source of the samples in this study was CRC patients. There is no comparison
with healthy (not suspected of CRC) individuals to show these could be used indeed as early
diagnosis biomarkers. The author must avoid making these assumptions with their current data
or have the appropriate controls.
The last paragraph in the results states that nhl1 expression increases 7-fold. In the discussion,
this value is referred to as 5-fold. Please correct the discrepancies.
Rephrase for better clarity "Patients who molecular diagnostic tests positive/higher expression
for any risk marker become candidates for an intervention or for surveillance"
assistant