Fusobacterium nucleatum may be partially responsible for the sharp increase in colorectal cancer incidence among individuals aged younger than 45 years, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study presented at Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

“We haven’t seen large genetic differences in colorectal tumors in younger vs. older people, so we think that something in the microbiome may be behind the rise in incidence of colorectal cancer in young people, Benjamin Adam Weinberg, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown University, told Healio.