Although increased screening remains essential, a recent Cleveland Clinic study, published in npj Precision Oncology, suggests a need for a different strategy when it comes to younger patients.

According to senior author Dr. Suneel Kamath, “at the end of the day, it’s impractical to apply our care models for those over 60 to younger adults simply because we cannot give everyone in the system yearly colonoscopies.”

For their study, the research team analyzed extensive patient data from the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer. Earlier studies from this group had identified differences in metabolites and gut microbiomes between younger and older colorectal cancer patients. However, understanding cancer risk becomes more complicated when multiple factors, such as the interaction between gut bacteria and metabolites, are involved.

To clarify these complexities, the research team developed an AI algorithm to integrate data from existing studies. Their analysis revealed that diet-related metabolites are a significant factor distinguishing young-onset colorectal cancer from cases in older adults.

The study found that younger colorectal cancer patients had higher levels of metabolites related to the metabolism of arginine, an amino acid, and the urea cycle—differences likely linked to prolonged consumption of red and processed meats.

“Researchers—ourselves included—have begun to focus on the gut microbiome as a primary contributor to colon cancer risk. But our data clearly shows that the main driver is diet,” said co-author, Naseer Sangwan.

“Changing your microbiome can be difficult,” says Dr. Kamath, “but modifying your diet to reduce colon cancer risk is more straightforward.”

The researchers are now working to validate these findings on a national scale.

With an increase in colon cancer amongst young individuals, it is important to investigate lifestyle decisions being made and one such thing is the poor understanding around what is nutritious food and fallacy of meat being an excellent protein source coupled with false, industry-influenced researches, people in turn are being harmed.

Charcuteries boards are not rewarding food nor are they luxury food items, much science has shown that it is a pathway to disease.

TT Jayakrishnan et al. Multi-omics machine learning to study host-microbiome interactions in early-onset colorectal cancer. npj Precision Oncology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-024-00647-1