ARAF and colorectal carcinoma: E. coli produces colibactin, encoded by the pks gene, which has a variable and complex pathway in promoting the progression of CRC, including genotoxicity by causing double-stranded breaks in cellular DNA; it can also lead to disruption of the normal intestinal barrier as well as inflammation; and it can interfere with the normal cell cycle, leading to the death of normal cells or the transformation of abnormal cells, which can lead to the onset of CRC (Sadeghi, Mestivier & Sobhani, 2024).