Some good news for your gut.
Cases of colorectal cancer are steadily rising and showing up in alarming rates in young people, becoming the third-most common cancer in the US.
But new research may hold key to explaining the mysterious increase — and it’s a blast from the past.
While colorectal cancer typically affects older people, younger adults are developing more aggressive tumors and are diagnosed at later stages.
Scientists are still trying to figure out why rates have gone up, with studies pointing to childhood infections, diet and BMI as possible factors.
And now an answer to this deadly mystery may lie in the basement at St. Mark’s The National Bowel Hospital in the United Kingdom.
The hospital has collected and stored tumor samples since the 1950s — more than 70 years — and will compare them with modern-day samples by researchers.
The samples have been preserved in paraffin wax and will be sent to the Institute of Cancer Research for more detailed analysis using genome sequencing techniques.
Since different causes of cancer leave different marks in cell DNA, researchers hope tracking these marks over time will point to the most likely cause of cancer in young people.
One of the leading theories, backed by recent groundbreaking research, points to colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. coli that thrive in the colon and rectum, as one culprit.
“If these so-called bad bugs are causing the increase, we should see the signature of these bad bugs,” Trevor Graham, a professor at the Institute of Cancer Research, told the BBC. “The damage was rare in the past and becomes increasingly common as we move towards the present day.”
But cases continue to rise, with the number of people under 55 being diagnosed nearly doubling in the last decade, according to the American Cancer Society.
If the analysis of the samples is successful and a cause is detected, the results could lead the way for more in-depth research and new prevention and treatment methods.
In the meantime, there are important signs to keep an eye out for, no matter your age.
“If you notice persistent diarrhea, constipation or a change in the shape, size, consistency or frequency of your stool, don’t simply brush it off as stress or diet changes,” Dr. Cedrek McFadden, a colorectal surgeon based in South Carolina and medical adviser to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, previously told The Post.
Rectal bleeding and unexplained weight loss are two additional signs to watch for.
“Pain, cramping or bloating that doesn’t go away could be a sign of something serious,” he said. “Bottom line: If something feels off, trust your gut — literally — and talk to your doctor.”
