ASU and Mayo Clinic partner to detect rising colorectal cancer in young people

TEMPE, Ariz. - Colorectal cancer diagnoses are on the rise in the United States, especially among younger people. Arizona State University is partnering with the Mayo Clinic to find ways to catch it sooner, providing more hope for survival.

The partnership between ASU's Biodesign Institute and the Mayo Clinic has been in place for many years in a variety of settings. One of the main focuses now is detecting colorectal cancer early, especially in younger people. Dr. Jewel Samadder with the Mayo Clinic says there is a variety of reasons why this trend is increasing, "including genetic causes, but more importantly environmental and dietary aspects."

What they're saying:

The partnership is focusing on research to use the body's own immune system to find the disease to hopefully help catch it and treat it.

"This is an opportunity to look at what's called biomarkers," said Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of the Biodesign Institute at ASU. "These are things you can measure in blood that would show a cancer that you otherwise wouldn't know is there."

The research team is also looking at genetics to see if these young patients are predisposed to the cancer. This could affect how the disease is caught and treated.

"This is especially important for people with Lynch syndrome," Samadder said. "This is a genetic cause of young-onset colorectal cancer. Just under 1 percent of the U.S. population has Lynch syndrome. People with this syndrome have an 80 percent risk of developing rectal cancer."

Samadder says the goal is to also find less invasive ways to detect the cancer, and catching it early is key.

"It is critical," Samadder said. "Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancer on the planet... becoming number one cancer causing death for young people less than 50 years of age."