Today, people over 50 years of age continue to be the population group with the highest risk of suffering from colon cancer, although an increase in cases is being recorded among those who have not reached that age. Moreover, the reason for this increase is still not known for certain. Dr. Perea García, an expert in Coloproctology, talks about a recent study that can change the diagnosis of colon cancer.
However, a gene, called NOMO1, has been found to be deleted in the colon tumors of young patients in whom there are no family characteristics. The finding, recently published in Oncotarget, aims to decipher the molecular alterations involved in these cases.
A study that could change the diagnosis of colon cancer
The study was carried out on a sample of one hundred patients, young and old. The NOMO1 gene was found in nine out of ten of those under 50 years of age with sporadic colon cancer, although not in older people with the tumor, nor in those affected by other cancers.
Once NOMO1 has been identified, from a practical point of view we now have a clinical marker present in a high proportion of patients, specific to colon cancer in young people. Thus, it is now necessary to determine the value of its identification in the diagnosis and follow-up of each case, as well as whether or not it is involved in the genesis of the tumors.
The next phase of the work is already underway and aims to test whether the loss of the NOMO1 gene can be identified at diagnosis and recurrence. For this, a liquid biopsy will be used.
The NOMO1 gene is important for embryonic development, although its importance in tumor development and its presence in sporadic colon cancer in young people had not been identified to date.
Colon cancer: cause or consequence
Clarifying whether the deletion is a cause or a consequence of colorectal cancer will help to understand why the incidence of this type of tumor is increasing in young patients, with a priori a long life ahead of them. This upward trend is clearly seen in the United States, where there is a large registry of tumors. However, the opposite is true in Spain, where the overall incidence of colon cancer is increasing, given that screening programs are not yet fully implemented, confirming the concern about the increase in these cases in young people.
Hereditary tumors are, in principle, easier to detect, but it is the sporadic ones, which can be influenced by external factors such as diet, lack of exercise, obesity or smoking, that are more difficult to anticipate.
The work has been carried out by the research group coordinated by Dr. José Perea.