Colorectal cancer rates are rising at an alarming rate among young adults, but the reason behind the increased diagnoses has been a medical mystery. However, the Cleveland Clinic has released a study that pinpoints a major cause for the spike in cases: diet.
When looking at the microbiomes of adults 60 years and younger with colorectal cancer, researchers found an unusually high level of diet-derived molecules called metabolites. The metabolites involved in colorectal cancer usually come from eating red and processed meat.
“Researchers—ourselves included—have begun to focus on the gut microbiome as a primary contributor to colon cancer risk. But our data clearly shows that the main driver is diet,” says Dr. Naseer Sangwan, a director at the Microbial Sequencing & Analytics Resource Core at the Cleveland Clinic and study co-author, in a media release. “We already know the main metabolites associated with young-onset risk, so we can now move our research forward in the correct direction.”
The study is published in the journal npj Precision Oncology.
The researchers created an artificial intelligence algorithm to examine a wide range of datasets in published studies to determine what factors contributed most to colorectal cancer risk. One crucial area to explore was the gut microbiome. Previous research showed significant differences in gut composition between younger and older adults with colorectal cancer.
One of the most striking features among young adults and older adults with colorectal cancer is the differences in diet, reflected through the type of metabolites present in the gut microbiome. Younger people showed higher levels of metabolites involved in producing and metabolizing an amino acid called arginine, along with metabolites involved in the urea cycle.
According to the authors, these metabolites likely result from overeating red meat and processed foods. They are currently examining national datasets to confirm their findings.
Choosing between the two, it is much simpler to change a diet than to completely reset a person’s microbiome. The findings suggest that eating less red and processed meat could lower a person’s risk of colorectal cancer.
“Even though I knew before this study that diet is an important factor in colon cancer risk, I didn’t always discuss it with my patients during their first visit. There is so much going on, it can already be so overwhelming,” says Dr. Suneel Kamath, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study. “Now, I always make sure to bring it up to my patients, and to any healthy friends or family members they may come in with, to try and equip them with the tools they need to make informed choices about their lifestyle.”
Making healthier dietary choices is also a more accessible method for preventing colorectal cancer. While screening is an important tool, Dr. Kamath notes it is impractical for doctors to give every person in the world a colonoscopy. In the future, simple tests that count specific metabolites as a marker for colorectal cancer risk may help with increased monitoring. On the research side, the authors plan to test whether particular diets or drugs involved in regulating arginine production and the urea cycle can help prevent or treat colorectal cancer in young adults.
Source: https://studyfinds.org/colorectal-cancer-diet/?nab=0