Adelaide University researchers will investigate why Australia has the highest rate of early-onset bowel cancer in the world as part of a national collaboration into the causes of the killer disease.
Adelaide University Associate Professor Susan Woods will be an Associate Director of a new $5.8 million Early-Onset Bowel Cancer Centre of Research Excellence (CRE), to be known as CRE ARTEMIS.
Associate Professor Woods’ Adelaide-based team will specifically look at how the gut microbiome influences the development of early-onset bowel cancer by analysing samples collected from Australian patients and using cancer models in the lab.
“The aim of our research is to understand why these cancers are happening more often, to develop biomarkers to indicate people at higher risk that need increased surveillance and to find new approaches to prevent bowel cancers forming in young people,” she said.
“Bowel cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers. Traditionally considered a disease of older adults, bowel cancer is now rising at alarming rates in younger people.
“For reasons not yet understood, Australia has the highest incidence of early-onset bowel cancer worldwide and this is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Australians under 50.
“Identifying why this is happening and markers to detect who is at risk are critical to preventing bowel cancers in young people.”
Adelaide University is one of six universities involved in CRE ARTEMIS, led by one of Australia’s pre-eminent early-onset bowel cancer researchers, Associate Professor Dan Buchanan.
The Centre’s five-year research program will focus on the aetiology, risk factors, tumourigenesis, exposures, microbiome and immune susceptibilities in early-onset bowel cancer.
“The team are all very excited and committed to identifying the causes and mechanisms driving the increasing rates of early-onset bowel cancer,” Associate Professor Dan Buchanan said.
1-in-8 Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer are aged under 50, and the risk of being diagnosed before age 40 has more than doubled since the year 2000.
Around 1,900 young Australian are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.
Along with investigating causes of the disease, CRE ARTEMIS will also train and mentor the next generation of early-onset bowel cancer researchers, developing a national workforce with the cross-disciplinary skills needed to drive innovation in prevention, early detection and future treatment.
Bowel Cancer Australia has committed $3 million through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) to establish CRE ARTEMIS. The charity’s commitment will be supported by additional funding of $2.8 million from participating institutions and partners, including from Adelaide University and The Hospital Research Foundation Group.
The CRE was named after Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, reflecting the team's determination to track down what is causing early-onset bowel cancer and the alarming rise of the disease in young Australians.
To learn more about the CRE ARTEMIS visit artemiscre.org
Photo: The Hospital Research Foundation Group