Younger patients’ colorectal tumors had distinct cellular and genetic characteristics when compared with older patients’ tumors, according to a study published Oct. 29 in Nature Medicine.
Researchers from Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham and Cambridge, Mass.-based Broad Institute analyzed 189 tumors from patients ages 29 to 90 and older to evaluate how colorectal cancer biology changes with age. Of those patients, 54 were diagnosed before age 50.
The colorectal cancer diagnosis rate among U.S. adults under 50 increased 2.9% anually between 2013 and 2022, and the disease is now the leading cause of cancer death in that age group, according to the American Cancer Society.
Here are three notes from the study:
- In the most common colorectal cancer subtype, tumors from younger patients had more connective and supporting cells relative to cancer cells than tumors from older patients. Those cellular characteristics have been linked to chemotherapy resistance in several types of solid tumors.
- Younger patients’ tumors also had higher activity of long noncoding RNAs, which help regulate gene activity. The roles of many of these RNAs remain largely unknown.
Gene activity in younger patients’ tumors also suggested stronger signaling between cells, which can help cancer cells spread into nearby tissue. - Researchers said the findings did not establish whether these differences cause more aggressive disease.
Read the full study here.
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