Exhibit 152 · Genomic study
Geographic and age variations in mutational processes in colorectal cancer
SBS88 and ID18 were also enriched in early-onset colorectal cancers, being 3.3 times more common in individuals who were diagnosed before 40 years of age than in those over 70 years of age, and were imprinted early during colorectal cancer development.
Whole-genome sequencing of 981 colorectal cancers from 11 countries found mutational signatures SBS88 and ID18, caused by colibactin, a mutagen made by certain bacteria, 3.3 times more often in patients diagnosed before age 40 than in those over 70. The signatures were imprinted early in tumor development; press accounts of the authors' timing analysis place exposure in the first decade of life. The authors wrote that early-life exposure to colibactin-producing bacteria may contribute to the rise in early-onset colorectal cancer, and that the reasons for the rise are unknown. Senior author Ludmil Alexandrov described the finding to the press as an association.
- Source
- Marcos Díaz-Gay, Ludmil B. Alexandrov et al.; Nature 643:230–240
- Date
- 23 April 2025 (online)
- Quoted from
- Abstract (Nature 643:230-240)
- Grade
- Peer-reviewed
- Document
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09025-8
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- The first-decade timing and Alexandrov's remarks come from ScienceDaily and The Scientist.