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Bowel cancer - is it all in the genes?

3 April 2008

Key facts
  • More than 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year.
  • Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK and the second most common cause of cancer death.
  • Symptoms include a change in your bowel habit (such as going to the toilet more often), blood in your faeces, a pain or swelling in your abdomen (tummy) and extreme tiredness for no apparent reason.
  • There is a good chance bowel cancer can be treated if caught early.

There are certain factors that increase the risk of bowel cancer, including age, family history, diet and lifestyle, and inflammatory bowel disease, and it is crucial people are aware of all of these

Ian Beaumont, Director of Press, PR and Public Affairs, Bowel Cancer UK

Scientists have identified new genes that can affect our risk of getting bowel cancer, according to new research published this week in Nature Genetics. Furthermore, one of the genes identified was shown to affect people differently, depending on their race.

The two studies are part of a series that are being funded by Cancer Research UK to search for bowel cancer susceptibility genes. The project aims to find a set of genetic markers that could be used to identify people in the population who are more at risk of bowel cancer.

In the first study, a team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh identified a genetic marker which was found to increase the risk of cancer of the colon (a type of bowel cancer) in Europeans, but not in people of Japanese descent. The second study identified two new genes that also appear to increase the risk of bowel cancer.

Director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, Dr Lesley Walker, said "We can now begin to explain some of the difference in rates of the disease between populations through specific genes." She added, "This collaboration will continue to bring knowledge that will eventually allow us to test people with a family history of the disease, catching cancer earlier in those who are at the highest risk, or preventing it altogether."

However, it's important to remember that your risk of getting bowel cancer isn't just down to your genes - lifestyle factors also have an important role.

"Bowel cancer is not determined by genetics alone, and family history accounts for less than 10 percent of bowel cancer cases," commented Ian Beaumont, Director of Press, PR and Public Affairs at Bowel Cancer UK.

"It is also important to remember that for each individual the risks will differ, depending on genetics and lifestyle factors. What we do know is that there are certain factors that increase the risk of bowel cancer, including age, family history, diet and lifestyle, and inflammatory bowel disease, and it is crucial people are aware of all of these."

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