Xu W, Zhou G, Wang H, et al. - Researchers investigated blood-based markers for the early identification of colorectal cancer (CRC). They also assessed the efficiency of these markers in differentiating healthy controls, patients with polyps and adenomas and cancer patients. In a bioinformatics database, analysis and screening of ZFAS1, SNHG11, LINC00909 and LINC00654 was done, this was followed by collection of clinical plasma samples for preliminary small-scale analysis and further large-scale verification. High diagnostic performance for CRC was demonstrated by the combination of ZFAS1, SNHG11, LINC00909 and LINC00654 (AUC: 0.937), particularly early-stage disease (AUC: 0.935). In postoperative samples vs preoperative samples, a significant reduction in plasma levels of the four candidate lncRNAs was identified. A good performance in discriminating patient groups with different stages of colon disease was displayed by a panel including these four lncRNAs. The diagnostic ability of SNHG11 to detect precancerous lesions and early-stage tumour formation was greatest. Overall, the possible use of SNHG11 as a new treatment target for CRC and as a potential biomarker for the early identification of CRC was suggested.