As a rising number of young adults get colorectal cancer before they turn 50, researchers are trying to find out what’s behind the alarming jump in this early-onset cancer.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths in men under 50 and the number two cause among women of the same age, according to the American Cancer Society. The early-onset colorectal cancer rates are increasing by 1% to 2% each year, but the rise remains a mystery.
Now, a Mass General researcher is leading a team to investigate the rapid jump in young adult cases of colorectal cancer, a disease in which cells in the colon or rectum grow out of control.
Andrew Chan, the director of epidemiology for the Mass General Cancer Center, is co-leading the global team known as PROSPECT — which received a grant of up to $25 million over five years to study early-onset colorectal cancer. The research team is looking to understand the pathways, risk factors and molecules involved in the cancer’s development.
“Research suggests that this risk is increasing with each new generation,” said Chan, a gastroenterologist focused on cancer prevention among families at high risk of gastrointestinal cancer, “And is likely linked to exposures in early life and throughout an individual’s lifetime that are specific to their birth cohort.”
The research team has uncovered contributing causes to this rise in early-onset cases, including: overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and alterations in the gut microbiome.
“Despite this progress, these factors do not completely explain the rapid rise in cases, and many unanswered questions remain about the mechanisms responsible for the rise in cases,” Chan said.
The team will try to identify the risk factors associated with early-onset colorectal cancer, as well as develop prevention strategies.
“Uncovering the causes of the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer around the globe is a one of the highest…
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