Laura Tran in The Scientist:
Colorectal cancer (CRC) rates are rising in adults under 50, with incidence patterns varying significantly by global region.1 As researchers dig into the age- and geography-related shifts, they’re zeroing in on risk factors behind early-onset cases. Environmental exposures and certain lifestyle factors can leave their mark on a person’s health and imprint characteristic patterns of somatic mutations in the genome, known as mutational signatures.2
Ludmil Alexandrov, a cancer geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, combines traditional and mutational epidemiology to analyze genomes for genetic patterns that may be responsible for the varying CRC incidence rates. In a new study, Alexandrov and his team found that early-life exposure to colibactin, a DNA-damaging toxin produced by certain strains of Escherichia coli in the gut, is strongly linked to early-onset CRC.3
More here.
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