Why are more young people getting colon cancer?
Geographic and age variations in mutational processes in colorectal cancer
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Colibactin signatures are more common in early-onset cancers than in late-onset, despite older people having had more time to accumulate mutations.
It contradicts the assumption that cancer risk simply increases with age — here, a specific environmental trigger (bacterial toxin) is disproportionately affecting younger people.
Practical Takeaways
Consider reducing processed foods and antibiotics in childhood, and support gut health with fiber-rich diets — especially if there's family history.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Colibactin signatures are more common in early-onset cancers than in late-onset, despite older people having had more time to accumulate mutations.
It contradicts the assumption that cancer risk simply increases with age — here, a specific environmental trigger (bacterial toxin) is disproportionately affecting younger people.
Practical Takeaways
Consider reducing processed foods and antibiotics in childhood, and support gut health with fiber-rich diets — especially if there's family history.
Publication
Journal
Nature
Year
2025
Authors
M. Díaz-Gay, Wellington Dos Santos, Sarah J. Moody, Mariya Kazachkova, Ammal Abbasi, Christopher D. Steele, R. Vangara, S. Senkin, Jingwei Wang, Stephen Fitzgerald, E. Bergstrom, Azhar Khandekar, Burçak Otlu, B. Abedi-Ardekani, A. D. de Carvalho, Thomas Cattiaux, Ricardo Cortez Cardoso Penha, V. Gaborieau, Priscilia Chopard, Christine Carreira, S. Cheema, Calli Latimer, Jon W. Teague, A. Mukeriya, D. Zaridze, Riley Cox, Monique Albert, Larry Phouthavongsy, Steven Gallinger, R. Malekzadeh, Ahmadreza Niavarani, Marko Miladinov, Katarina Erić, Sasa Milosavljevic, S. Sangrajrang, M. Curado, S. Aguiar, R.M. Reis, M. T. Reis, L. Romagnolo, D. P. Guimarães, I. Holcatova, Jaroslav Kalvach, C. A. Vaccaro, T. Piñero, B. Świątkowska, J. Lissowska, Katarzyna Roszkowska-Purska, Antonio Huertas-Salgado, Tatsuhiro Shibata, Satoshi Shiba, S. Sangkhathat, T. Chitapanarux, G. Roshandel, Patrícia Ashton-Prolla, Daniel C Damin, F. H. de Oliveira, Laura Humphreys, T. Lawley, Sandra Perdomo, Michael R. Stratton, Paul Brennan, Ludmil B. Alexandrov
Related Content
Claims (8)
DNA damage from certain bacteria in early childhood may lead to colorectal cancer that appears later in adulthood.
Certain strains of Escherichia coli that produce colibactin cause distinct double-strand breaks in the DNA of cells lining the colon, leading to characteristic mutation patterns known as SBS88 and ID18.
In 11 countries, regions with higher rates of specific DNA damage patterns linked to colibactin-producing bacteria also have higher rates of colorectal cancer, suggesting that differences in exposure to these bacteria may help explain why cancer rates vary by location.
DNA damage caused by the bacterial toxin colibactin is found in the earliest genetic changes in colorectal cancer, suggesting that exposure to this toxin happens early in life and helps create the initial mutations that lead to cancer.
Colorectal tumors with specific DNA damage patterns caused by colibactin often do not contain the bacteria that produce it at the time of diagnosis, suggesting the bacteria were present earlier and have since been cleared.