Stage-dependent and heterogeneous tumor association of Fusobacterium nucleatum in Romanian patients with colon adenocarcinoma

Figure 2 Cycle threshold values according to preoperative T stage. A: MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) cycle threshold (Ct) values according to preoperative T stage. Distribution of miR-21 Ct values stratified by preoperative tumor T stage. Data are presented as individual values with group distributions. Overlapping ranges across stages indicate no significant differences in miR-21 expression according to local tumor invasion; B: FS17 Ct values in adjacent non-tumoral tissue according to preoperative T stage. FS17-derived Ct values for Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) detection in adjacent non-tumoral colonic tissue stratified by preoperative T stage. No consistent stage-dependent pattern is observed, with overlapping distributions across tumor stages; C: FS17 tumor Ct values according to preoperative T stage. Boxplot showing FS17-derived Ct values for F. nucleatum detection in tumor tissue stratified by preoperative T stage. Lower Ct values in T2 tumors indicate higher bacterial detection compared with T3-T4 tumors, demonstrating a stage-dependent tumor association. miR-21: MicroRNA-21.