Clues to early onset colorectal cancer found in microbiome of Hispanic patients

Nina Sanford, M.D., Chief of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology Service, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Most people have a screening colonoscropy around age 50, however recent research has uncovered a rise in early onset colorectal cancer in patients younger than 50.

What can be causing this increase?

Dr. Sanford and colleagues at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a clue in the microbiome of colorectal patients of Hispanic ethnicity, recently published in the Journal of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology.

“The increasing incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer, defined as a diagnosis of CRC in patients aged less than 50 years, has become a growing concern over the last four decades.This trend is particularly associated with rectal tumors, with notable racial and ethnic disparities in presentation and outcome.For instance, Black individuals have the highest EOCRC incidence and mortality rates, whereas Hispanic patients, despite overall lower overall incidence, tend to be diagnosed at younger ages compared to non-Hispanic White individuals.”

For a copy of the full paper and interviews, please contact Lori Soderbergh.