Biological Age as a Tool to Predict Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Risk
Recent research has established a connection between a person’s “biological age” and their risk of developing colon polyps, which are known to be a risk factor for colorectal cancer. Biological age can be measured through various genetic analyses and reflects the impacts of lifestyle choices, genetics and environmental factors on an individual’s body. Unlike chronological age, which counts the years lived, biological age is based on physiological markers and measures physiological changes at the cellular level, offering a more precise view of an individual’s health.
“Biological age is an interesting concept, and it leads to the idea of accelerated aging when your biological age exceeds your chronological age,” said Shria Kumar, M.D., a colorectal cancer researcher at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
So, if someone is 50, but their biological age is 55, they have five years of accelerated aging. They found that each year of accelerated aging correlated with a 16% higher risk of developing polyps. Interestingly, while lifestyle factors like obesity and smoking were not directly linked to polyp risk in this study, they remain associated with accelerated biological aging.
“You can imagine how that might reflect their body’s overall functioning,” said Dr. Kumar, an assistant professor in the Miller School’s Digestive Health and Liver Diseases. “It sounds pretty theoretical, but actually accelerated aging has been shown to be predictive of time to death and even of multiple cancers.”
The research has been published in Cancer Prevention Research. Read the whole article here: American Association for Cancer Research