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 (ctDNA) 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.