A pioneering UK study will compare bowel cancer tumour samples from the 1950s with modern-day specimens to investigate why rates of the disease are rising among younger people. Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) hope to uncover how changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures, including microplastics, may be driving the increase.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, affecting 44,100 people annually, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. While screening has reduced cases in older adults, diagnoses among younger people have been rising and are expected to double between 2010 and 2030.
The study, named the 'Boomers Project', will use preserved pathology specimens stored at St Mark’s Hospital in London. The team will apply genome sequencing to map DNA alterations in the historical samples compared to current cases, revealing how environmental exposures have changed over decades.
Professor Trevor Graham, director of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at ICR, said: 'People in the 1960s lived differently to people today. We believe that the exposome – the changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental factors – is contributing to the increase in cases and deaths from bowel cancers in younger adults.'
Holly Masters, 27, diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer over four years ago after being initially told she had IBS, said: 'It did feel unfair to be diagnosed at such a young age. I lost all my innocence and realised how harsh life can be.'
Professor Kevin Monahan, gastroenterologist at St Mark’s Centre for Familial Intestinal Cancer, added: 'We don’t yet know whether it’s one factor or many ranging from diet and genetics to microplastics and sedentary lifestyles. What’s striking is that many younger patients show no obvious signs of poor health yet are being diagnosed with aggressive forms of bowel cancer.'
