Researchers identify age-linked biological differences in colorectal cancer

A collaborative study published in Nature Medicine has identified distinct biological differences in colorectal tumours based on patient age. Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Mass General Brigham, and the Broad Institute analysed 189 primary tumours using single-nucleus RNA sequencing to create a detailed atlas of over 850,000 nuclei.

The findings reveal that among microsatellite-stable tumours, younger patients' samples contained proportionally more supporting tissue and fewer epithelial cells compared to older patients. Additionally, the study noted age-associated changes in gene activity, specifically an increased expression of long non-coding RNAs in the tumour epithelial cells of younger individuals.

This research comes amid rising concerns in the United States, where colorectal cancer diagnosis rates among people under 50 increased by 2.9% annually between 2013 and 2022. While the study does not provide a definitive explanation for every early-onset case or a new treatment, it provides a foundational roadmap for investigating why the disease may behave more aggressively in younger populations.