Colibactin: Microbial Threat Targeting People Before Age 55
United States: Doctors and cancer researchers maintain concern about the two-decade doubling statistics showing colon cancer growth among people under age 55.
Studies indicate colibactin as a possible cause of cancer since this toxin is created by specific strains of E. coli and other bacteria.
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New research this week shows that the DNA-harming toxin colibactin connects firmly to colon cancer development in young patients.
The scientific team at the University of California, San Diego, examined tissue samples from 1000 colorectal cancer patients who lived across four worldwide continents during their analysis.
The researchers detected these mutations in most cancer samples, which indicated past exposure to colibactin bacteria.
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According to Ludmil Alexandrov, the lead author of the study, which was published in Nature this week, “You can think of it as the weapon system of a bacteria to fight other bacteria and to defend themselves,” npr.org reported.
Conflict shows that persons in their 40s or younger with early-onset colon cancer developing these DNA-damaging mutations occur three to five times more often than cancer patients who exceed the age of 70.
Scientists believe bacterial genotoxins known as colibactin strike particular gut cells of select individuals to initiate cancer-causing mutations in these persons.
At present, the study demonstrates evidence of a relationship between patients with early cancer and colibactin, but it fails to establish this bacterium as the responsible agent for younger onset cancer progression.
“Our estimate is that it happens within the first 10 years of life,” as per Alexandrov.
Childhood exposure to a microbial substance, colibactin, may be behind the rise of early-onset colorectal cancer, new research suggests.🦠
— Wellcome Sanger Institute (@sangerinstitute) April 24, 2025
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“So if you get that mutation at age 5, that puts you 20 to 30 years ahead of schedule for getting colorectal cancer,” he added.
Scientists working in this field believe that E. coli, along with every other microorganism, cannot act as a universal solution for investigating colorectal cancer.
As per Christian Jobin, a microbiome researcher at the University of Florida, “That would be too simple,” npr.org reported.
“That would be too simple,” says Christian Jobin, a microbiome researcher at the University of Florida.
Scientists suggest that colibactin discovered within E. coli bacteria and various other strains represents one factor among numerous elements that speed up cancer development in individuals.
