An international team of researchers led by Ulrike Peters, PhD, MPH, has identified six new locations in the human genome that could indicate higher risk for colorectal cancer.
For each of the six risk variants, the researchers reported a 9 to 16 percent increase in the odds of developing CRC.
"We are identifying more and more of these common genetic variants," Dr. Peters said, "and we can now start to use these variants to define the genetic risk profile of individuals." Such information can be used to identify those who can benefit from earlier or more frequent screening, such as colonoscopy or stool blood tests," said Dr. Peters.
Dr. Peters is a research professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health and a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, both in Seattle. The research team was co-led by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Keck School of Medicine of USC in Los Angeles.