Obesity and Early-onset Colorectal Cancer Risk: Emerging Clinical Evidence and Biological Mechanisms

Overview

Journal Front Oncol

Specialty Oncology

Date 2024 May 20

PMID 38764574

Authors

Peng Xu

Zuo Tao

Hua Yang

Cheng Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is defined as diagnosed at younger than 50 years of age and indicates a health burden globally. Patients with EOCRC have distinct risk factors, clinical characteristics, and molecular pathogenesis compared with older patients with CRC. Further investigations have identified different roles of obesity between EOCRC and late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC). Most studies have focused on the clinical characteristics of obesity in EOCRC, therefore, the mechanism involved in the association between obesity and EOCRC remains inconclusive. This review further states that obesity affects the carcinogenesis of EOCRC as well as its development and progression, which may lead to obesity-related metabolic syndrome, intestinal dysbacteriosis, and intestinal inflammation.

Citing Articles

Colorectal Cancer in Elderly Patients: Insights into Presentations, Prognosis, and Patient Outcomes.

Shalata W, Gluzman A, Man S, Cohen A, Abu Jama A, Gothelf I Medicina (Kaunas). 2025; 60(12.

PMID: 39768833 PMC: 11678490. DOI: 10.3390/medicina60121951.

Trends in childhood cancer: Incidence and survival analysis over 45 years of SEER data.

Sultan I, Alfaar A, Sultan Y, Salman Z, Qaddoumi I PLoS One. 2025; 20(1):e0314592.

PMID: 39752445 PMC: 11698462. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314592.

Obesity-Associated Colorectal Cancer.

Gonzalez-Gutierrez L, Motino O, Barriuso D, de la Puente-Aldea J, Alvarez-Frutos L, Kroemer G Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(16).

PMID: 39201522 PMC: 11354800. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25168836.

References

Cox A, West N, Cripps A . Obesity, inflammation, and the gut microbiota. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2014; 3(3):207-15. DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(14)70134-2. View

Dai R, Kelly B, Ike A, Berger D, Chan A, Drew D . The Impact of the Gut Microbiome, Environment, and Diet in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Development. Cancers (Basel). 2024; 16(3). PMC: 10854951. DOI: 10.3390/cancers16030676. View

Xu Z, Lv Z, Chen F, Zhang Y, Xu Z, Huo J . Dysbiosis of human tumor microbiome and aberrant residence of in tumor-associated fibroblasts in young-onset colorectal cancer. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:1008975. PMC: 9481283. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1008975. View

von Deneen K, Wei Q, Tian J, Liu Y . Obesity in China: what are the causes?. Curr Pharm Des. 2011; 17(12):1132-9. DOI: 10.2174/138161211795656765. View

Tsoi H, Chu E, Zhang X, Sheng J, Nakatsu G, Ng S . Peptostreptococcus anaerobius Induces Intracellular Cholesterol Biosynthesis in Colon Cells to Induce Proliferation and Causes Dysplasia in Mice. Gastroenterology. 2017; 152(6):1419-1433.e5. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2017.01.009. View

Aitchison A, Hakkaart C, Day R, Morrin H, Frizelle F, Keenan J . Mutations Are Not Confined to Hotspot Regions in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2020; 12(12). PMC: 7766084. DOI: 10.3390/cancers12123829. View

Cirillo F, Catellani C, Sartori C, Lazzeroni P, Amarri S, Street M . Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Colorectal Cancer: Could miRNA Dysregulation Play A Role?. Int J Mol Sci. 2019; 20(12). PMC: 6628223. DOI: 10.3390/ijms20122922. View

Popoviciu M, Paduraru L, Yahya G, Metwally K, Cavalu S . Emerging Role of GLP-1 Agonists in Obesity: A Comprehensive Review of Randomised Controlled Trials. Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(13). PMC: 10341852. DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310449. View

Li Z, Pan W, Shen Y, Chen Z, Zhang L, Zhang Y . IGF1/IGF1R and microRNA let-7e down-regulate each other and modulate proliferation and migration of colorectal cancer cells. Cell Cycle. 2018; 17(10):1212-1219. PMC: 6110595. DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2018.1469873. View

10.

Nguyen L, Cao Y, Batyrbekova N, Roelstraete B, Ma W, Khalili H . Antibiotic Therapy and Risk of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A National Case-Control Study. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2022; 13(1):e00437. PMC: 8806371. DOI: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000437. View

11.

Zaborowski A . Colorectal Cancer in the Young: Research in Early Age Colorectal Cancer Trends (REACCT) Collaborative. Cancers (Basel). 2023; 15(11). PMC: 10252092. DOI: 10.3390/cancers15112979. View

12.

Di Leo M, Zuppardo R, Puzzono M, Ditonno I, Mannucci A, Antoci G . Risk factors and clinical characteristics of early-onset colorectal cancer vs. late-onset colorectal cancer: a case-case study. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020; 33(9):1153-1160. DOI: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000002000. View

13.

Liu K, Lei S, Kuang Y, Jin Q, Long D, Liu C . A Novel Mechanism of the c-Myc/NEAT1 Axis Mediating Colorectal Cancer Cell Response to Photodynamic Therapy Treatment. Front Oncol. 2021; 11:652831. PMC: 8355738. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.652831. View

14.

Stoffel E, Murphy C . Epidemiology and Mechanisms of the Increasing Incidence of Colon and Rectal Cancers in Young Adults. Gastroenterology. 2019; 158(2):341-353. PMC: 6957715. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.07.055. View

15.

Venugopal A, Carethers J . Epidemiology and biology of early onset colorectal cancer. EXCLI J. 2022; 21:162-182. PMC: 8859644. DOI: 10.17179/excli2021-4456. View

16.

Wu C, Lui R . Early-onset colorectal cancer: Current insights and future directions. World J Gastrointest Oncol. 2022; 14(1):230-241. PMC: 8790420. DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i1.230. View

17.

Vitali F, Tortora K, Di Paola M, Bartolucci G, Menicatti M, De Filippo C . Intestinal microbiota profiles in a genetic model of colon tumorigenesis correlates with colon cancer biomarkers. Sci Rep. 2022; 12(1):1432. PMC: 8792020. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05249-0. View

18.

Taieb J, Svrcek M, Cohen R, Basile D, Tougeron D, Phelip J . Deficient mismatch repair/microsatellite unstable colorectal cancer: Diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Eur J Cancer. 2022; 175:136-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.07.020. View

19.

Rosenberg K . Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Linked to Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Risk. Am J Nurs. 2021; 121(10):52. DOI: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000794268.40128.c1. View

20.

Park E, Chelvanambi M, Bhutiani N, Kroemer G, Zitvogel L, Wargo J . Targeting the gut and tumor microbiota in cancer. Nat Med. 2022; 28(4):690-703. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01779-2. View