vhio / dna methylation / pesticides

Researchers link early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) to environmental exposures using DNA methylation-based ‘‘exposome’’ proxies. In methylation risk-score analyses comparing EOCRC patients (<50) and late-onset CRC (≥70), the study replicated known factors (education, diet, smoking) and identified the herbicide picloram as a novel risk factor (adjusted P = 4.4×10⁻⁴ in discovery; meta-analysis adjusted P = 1.5×10⁻²). County-level US pesticide usage over 21 years corroborated a picloram–EOCRC association (P = 4.52×10⁻⁴) that persisted after adjusting for socioeconomic variables and other pesticides. The work demonstrates how epigenetic biomarkers can proxy environmental exposures to reveal actionable links between agrochemical use and rising EOCRC, with implications for public health policy and targeted interventions.

Researchers linked early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) to environmental exposures by using DNA methylation–based risk scores as exposome proxies. In a discovery set (31 EOCRC vs 100 late-onset CRC patients), established factors—education, diet, smoking—were replicated and exposure to the herbicide picloram emerged as a novel risk factor (adjusted P = 4.4×10−4). A meta-analysis across nine CRC cohorts (83 EOCRC vs 272 LOCRC) replicated the association (P = 3.1×10−3, adjusted P = 1.5×10−2). Population-level analysis of 94 US counties over 21 years validated the picloram–EOCRC link (P = 4.52×10−4), robust to socioeconomic and other pesticide controls. The study underscores the exposome’s role in rising EOCRC and suggests targets for public-health policy and prevention.

Researchers at VHIO led by José A. Seoane report in Nature Medicine that DNA methylation signatures reveal an exposome footprint linked to early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) in patients under 50. By comparing methylation patterns in younger versus older CRC patients, the study ties environmental and lifestyle factors—diet, education, smoking—and notably intensity of pesticide (weed killer) use to EOCRC risk. The work suggests epigenetic marks can capture lifetime exposures that genomic sequencing misses, offering a potential route to identify modifiable risk factors and inform prevention strategies. The finding matters because EOCRC rates are rising worldwide, and epigenetic biomarkers could improve risk stratification and public-health interventions.

Researchers at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology mapped epigenetic DNA methylation signatures in early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) and linked them to lifelong environmental exposures. Published in Nature Medicine, the study compared methylation patterns in patients under and over 50 and identified an exposome footprint associated with diet, education level, smoking — and notably, intensity of pesticide (weed killer) use. The findings suggest that EOCRC’s rise may reflect modifiable environmental and lifestyle factors leaving lasting epigenetic marks that influence cancer risk. Key players include José A. Seoane’s VHIO Computational Biology Group and clinicians at VHIO and Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. This provides a potential biomarker route and prevention targets for younger CRC patients.