Childhood exposure to THIS bacteria is the reason behind rising cases of colorectal cancer in youngsters

Colorectal cancer, which was once thought to affect people above the age of 45, is now prevalent among youngsters. It can show up in your 20s, 30s, or 40s. Colorectal cancer cases are on the rise, and nobody knows for sure the reason behind it. A recent study has found that exposure to a certain bacterium in childhood could be the reason behind it.

The study, led by the researcher at the University of California, San Diego, found that a childhood exposure to a toxin produced by certain strains of bacteria in the colon could be the cause of rising cases of colorectal cancer in youth. The study published in Nature, analyzed 981 colorectal cancer genomes from patients across 11 countries.

Researchers identified a potential microbial culprit, a bacterial toxin called colibactin. The toxin is produced by certain strains of Escherichia coli that live in the colon and rectum. This colibactin is capable of altering DNA. The mutations were found to be 3.3 times more prevalent in early-onset cases (particularly in those under 40) than in patients diagnosed after the age of 70.

“These mutation patterns are a kind of historical record in the genome, and they point to early-life exposure to colibactin as a driving force behind early-onset disease,” senior author Ludmil Alexandrov, professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, said in a statement.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The colon cancer rates are on the rise among young people in at least 27 countries. The colon cancer rates among people under the age of 50 have roughly doubled every decade for the past 20 years. The trend is expected to rise, and is projected to become the leading cause of cancer-related death among young adults by 2030.

The study suggests colibactin’s damage begins early. By understanding the timing of these mutations, researchers found that they often occur within the first 10 years of life. About 15% of key cancer-driving mutations, known as APC driver mutations, were linked to colibactin.

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“When we started this project, we weren’t planning to focus on early-onset colorectal cancer. Our original goal was to examine global patterns of colorectal cancer to understand why some countries have much higher rates than others. But as we dug into the data, one of the most interesting and striking findings was how frequently colibactin-related mutations appeared in the early-onset cases,” Marcos Díaz-Gay, co-author said.

The researchers are planning to investigate how children are being exposed to colibactin-producing bacteria, whether lifestyle or diet play a role, and if probiotics could potentially remove harmful bacterial strains. Further study could potentially help in early detection.