Scientists researching the potential causes of colon cancer may have found a major warning sign for younger people to be on the lookout for.
Colon cancer rates among young people are growing at a concerning rate, as over in the US, diagnoses of colorectal cancer among those under 55 had doubled between 1995 and 2019.
Meanwhile, in people younger than 50 rates of the disease are increasing by around three percent each year, which doesn’t sound like much but quickly adds up as the years rattle on.
According to a new study, part of the reason why the rate of colon cancer has been growing so much among younger people is because harmful bacteria in your gut is producing a toxin called ‘colibactin’.
Research into colibactin has shown that it can cause damage to the DNA in your colon, which can eventually result in the development of cancer.
Around half of colorectal cancer cases in under 40s can be linked to the toxin colibactin, according to new research (Panuwat Dangsungnoen/Getty)
During their experiments, scientists studied the DNA sequencing of cancer tumours from 981 patients across 11 countries and found that colibactin damage to DNA was 3.3 time more common in patients younger than 40 than those over 70.
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Professor Ludmil Alexandrov of the University of California San Diego told NBC that in their studies scientists had found around half of early onset colorectal cancers in under 40s ‘carried the distinctive signature of colibactin exposure’.
He explained that the damage was often done in childhood and the DNA changes in a person’s first 10 years of life could have a significant impact further down the line through tumours forming.
As for the reason why this toxic product of harmful gut bacteria is having a more pronounced impact on people than it used to, and Professor Alexandrov said: “There are several plausible hypotheses, including early-life antibiotic use, which may allow these strains to establish more easily.
“Dietary shifts such as increased consumption of processed foods or reduced fiber consumption; increased rates of C-section births or reduced breastfeeding; and wider use of early group childcare which could facilitate microbial transmission during a critical developmental window.
Now they know one of the leading causes of colon cancer in young people, scientists can go about testing for presence of the cause (KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty)
“Collectively these shifts may be tipping the balance towards early-life acquisition of these microbes.”
Now that scientists have observed a link between colibactin and rates of colon cancer in younger people, Professor Alexandrov has said the next step is finding ways to determine whether or not someone’s gut has been exposed to the toxin.
He said: “The goal is to identify people who are at elevated risk for developing early-onset colorectal cancer, ideally before any disease has developed.
“We would want to have these people regularly checked.”
When it comes to cancer, identification and prevention are all important.