{"id":680280,"date":"2026-01-07T16:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680280\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:31:15","slug":"tumour-archive-could-solve-mystery-of-bowel-cancer-surge-in-under-50s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680280\/","title":{"rendered":"Tumour archive could solve mystery of bowel cancer surge in under-50s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of tumour samples that have been stored in the basement of a London hospital for more than 70 years could be the key to unlocking the mystery of why bowel cancer cases are rising in the under-50s, scientists believe.<\/p>\n

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and St Mark\u2019s Hospital are launching a pioneering study that compares bowel cancer specimens from the 1950s with modern examples.<\/p>\n

Using cutting-edge lab techniques, they hope to uncover how changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures \u2014 collectively known as the exposome \u2014 may be driving rising rates of early-onset bowel cancer.<\/p>\n

The team, co-led by Professor Trevor Graham from the institute, is particularly interested in the role of the gut microbiome, the bacteria that live in our bowels.<\/p>\n

\"Biopsy<\/p>\n

St Mark\u2019s Hospital is home to one of Britain\u2019s oldest archives of bowel cancer samples<\/p>\n

THE INSTITUTE OF CANCER RESEARCH, LONDON<\/p>\n

\"Biopsy<\/p>\n

Samples are stored in wax to preserve them<\/p>\n

THE INSTITUTE OF CANCER RESEARCH, LONDON<\/p>\n

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. While screening programmes have helped to reduce cases in older adults, diagnoses among younger people have risen<\/a> and are expected to double between 2010 and 2030.<\/p>\n

Dame Deborah James, who died in 2022 at the age of 40, helped to transform public awareness of the disease<\/a> by speaking candidly about her illness and urging people to recognise symptoms early and seek help without delay.<\/p>\n

Studies suggest that early-onset cancers tend to be diagnosed at a later stage. They also seem to behave more aggressively than bowel cancer in older people.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Single ten-minute workout could halt progression of bowel cancer<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Graham said: \u201cPeople in the 1950s lived differently to people today. We believe that the exposome \u2014 the changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental factors we are exposed to \u2014 is contributing to the increase in cases and deaths from bowel cancers in younger adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy performing detailed molecular analysis of bowel cancers from the 1950s and comparing the results to bowel cancers from today, we hope to identify exactly what is driving the increase. This could lead to new strategies for bowel cancer prevention and treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research has so far been unable to determine why bowel cancer is becoming more common in younger people. Several theories have been proposed, including changes in diet and lifestyle, exposure to environmental pollutants such as microplastics, and changes to the micro-organisms living in the bowel.<\/p>\n

The new study, called the \u201cBoomers Project\u201d, will use preserved pathology specimens from St Mark\u2019s Hospital, home to one of Britain\u2019s oldest archives of bowel cancer samples. Early tests have shown that even after decades in storage, the samples are suitable for analysis.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The 90-second test promising to spare millions from colonoscopy<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Different environmental exposures, such as smoking or diet, shape the DNA inside cancer cells in unique ways. The researchers plan to use genome sequencing techniques, including novel approaches developed at the Institute of Cancer Research, to map how the DNA is altered in the cancer specimens from the 1950s compared with cases from the present day. <\/p>\n

Professor Kevin Monahan of the St Mark\u2019s Centre for Familial Intestinal Cancer, who is also co-leading the project, said: \u201cMany younger patients show no obvious signs of poor health yet are being diagnosed with aggressive forms of bowel cancer. We believe that our unique resource of historical tumour samples at St Mark\u2019s Hospital will open a window to new approaches to prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cA healthy diet and regular exercise, as well as speaking to your GP if you have new bowel symptoms such as bleeding from the back passage, or a change in how often you open your bowels, remain some of the most important ways of reducing the risk of bowel cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It felt really unfair to be diagnosed so young \u2014 I lost my innocence\u2019<\/p>\n

Holly Masters was diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer more than four years ago, when she was 23.<\/p>\n

The actress and access support worker from East Anglia was successfully treated with chemo-radiation, combined chemotherapy and major surgery.<\/p>\n

\"Holly<\/p>\n

Holly Masters<\/p>\n

THE INSTITUTE OF CANCER RESEARCH<\/p>\n

Masters said: \u201cI\u2019d known that something wasn\u2019t right a year before my diagnosis. I had all the symptoms of bowel cancer. But the doctors told me I had IBS and I was eventually diagnosed through emergency admission at A&E. I went through a range of emotions when I was told I had cancer. Up until that moment it hadn\u2019t even crossed my mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did feel really unfair to be diagnosed at such a young age. I lost all my innocence and realised how harsh life can be. I now have a stoma, which did take some getting used to, and it took me a long time to accept the most difficult consequence \u2014 the fear that the cancer will come back. I have to live with the mental and physical effects of my diagnosis for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to protect younger people and find out why more of us are being diagnosed with cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands of tumour samples that have been stored in the basement of a London hospital for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-680280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115854775794647468","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}