Researchers from New York City-based NYU Langone Health have developed a genetic and lifestyle calculator that identifies people under age 50 who are most likely to develop colorectal cancer, the system said Jan. 27.
Four notes:
1. The tool produces a polygenic risk score between 0 and 1. The score is a calculation of a person's risk of developing colon or rectum cancers based on 141 genetic variants that are more common in people with the disease. This score is then added to a parallel risk calculation based on 16 lifestyle factors, such as smoking and age, that are known to increase people's chances of bowel cancers.
2. Research published Jan. 13 in Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed people with the highest, or top third, combined polygenic and lifestyle risk scores were four times more likely to develop colorectal cancers than people in the bottom third.
3. The study involved 3,486 people younger than 50 who developed bowel cancer between 1990 and 2019, and 3,890 similar young people without the disease.
4. Larger trials and testing are needed before the tool is ready for clinical use, researchers said.
"Our ultimate goal is to have a predictive test for all people to gauge when they, based on their own genetic and personal health factors, need to start routine screening for colorectal cancer," said Richard Hayes, DDS, PhD, co-senior investigator on the study.