Sungkyunkwan University: Risk of colorectal cancer 93% higher when biological age is at least 2 years older than actual age

[Financial News]  A study has found that adults under 50 whose biological age is at least 2 years older than their actual age have a 93% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than those whose biological age is not at least 2 years older than their actual age. In other words, the risk of colorectal cancer may vary depending on the degree of physical aging, even among people of the same age.
A research team comprising Professor Kim Gi-ju of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Professors Ryu Seung-ho and Jang Yu-su of the Cohort Research Institute at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital said on the 8th that this was the result of following 198,491 adults under 50 who had undergone health checkups for an average of 7.7 years.
The research team calculated biological age using nine indicators measurable through blood tests, including blood glucose, creatinine, albumin, inflammation levels and white blood cell count. They compared this with actual age to analyze how quickly physical aging was progressing.
Analysis linked with national cancer registry data found that people whose biological age was at least 2 years older than their actual age had a 93% higher risk of colorectal adenocarcinoma occurring before age 50 than the normal group. The risk of adenocarcinoma of the colon, a part of the large intestine, was 2.32 times as high.
The same association was also found among younger people under 45. The results remained consistent even after statistical adjustment for lifestyle factors that may affect colorectal cancer risk, including obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. However, no statistically significant association between biological age and cancer risk was found for neuroendocrine tumors, another type of tumor that occurs in the large intestine.
Colorectal cancer screening is currently conducted mainly on the basis of actual age. However, as early-onset colorectal cancer in people under 50 has recently been increasing worldwide, the need to identify high-risk individuals early, even among younger age groups, is being raised.
The research team said biological age measured through blood tests could potentially serve as an indicator to supplement existing age-based assessments of colorectal cancer risk. However, this was an observational study that identified an association between biological aging and colorectal cancer, and did not establish that biological aging directly causes colorectal cancer.
The research team said, "Even among young adults who are the same age according to their resident registration records, the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer may differ depending on their degree of biological aging as assessed by blood tests," adding, "If further research validates its predictive performance and clinical usefulness, it could be used to identify high-risk individuals among younger age groups more precisely."
The findings were published in the international journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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