Scientists celebrate bowel cancer breakthrough in bid to tackle surge in young people
Bowel cancer discovery offers hope for young patients
- Scientists have discovered that bowel cancer cells can transform into skin or muscle cells, allowing them to spread more aggressively.
- The discovery offers hope for treating the increasing rates of the disease, especially among young people.
- Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, claiming 16,800 lives annually, with early-onset rates rising in adults aged 25-49, particularly among young women in Scotland and England.
- Researchers found that the loss of the Atrx gene in bowel cancer cells leads to increased metastatic tumours spreading to the liver, lymph nodes, and diaphragm, as these cells shed their colonic identity to resemble skin or muscle cells.
- They say that understanding how bowel cancer cells 'shapeshift' is vital for developing new treatments to prevent cancer spread.