India, April 24 -- A toxin produced by certain gut bacteria during childhood may be contributing to the global rise in colorectal cancer among people under 50, new research suggests.
The toxin, called colibactin, is produced by a specific strain of Escherichia coli or E. coli that differs from the strains commonly associated with foodborne illnesses like diarrhoea. Colibactin has the ability to damage DNA, and this genetic disruption could be a critical factor in cancer development.
According to a study led by the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and published in Nature, researchers analysed the genomes of 981 colorectal cancer patients from 11 countries. They found that colibactin leaves behind a unique pattern of DNA mutations,...