Key points
UniSC biobank part of $2.5m three-year project
Collaboration to find causes of deadliest cancer in 25-54 year olds
Tissue donated from cancer patients to be compared in lab
A human tissue biobank is being set up by the University of the Sunshine Coast as part of a $2.5 million research project investigating an alarming increase in bowel cancer among younger Australians.
UniSC will establish the biobank of living tissue donated from Sunshine Coast patients under the age of 50 who are diagnosed with the disease.
It is believed to be the first biobank of its kind in the country.
The wider collaboration is exploring whether modern living is to blame for a surge in early-onset bowel cancer cases in Australia, including the role of increased antibiotic use, microplastics, chemicals and new lifestyle and environmental exposures.
UniSC cancer biologist Dr Lochlan Fennell , who will develop the biobank at the Sunshine Coast Health Institute (SCHI), said researchers aimed to find out why the disease was occurring earlier and how best to prevent and treat it.
"Over the past two decades, there has been a 200 percent jump in the incidence of early-onset bowel cancer in Australia and we are working to identify the causes behind this trend," Dr Fennell said.
"We hope that analysing the tissue stored in the biobank will help us better understand how risk factors have changed over time, as well as how the disease develops and progresses.
"We will grow miniature, 3D models of cancer tumours in our laboratory to allow us to test possible new treatments."
Data shows that more than 1,800 people under the age of 50 are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Australia each year, making it the country's deadliest cancer among people aged 25-54 years old.
Sunshine Coast Health acting Medical Director of Medical Oncology Dr Michael Allen said clinicians would ask local patients being treated for early-onset bowel cancer if they would like to donate tissue to the biobank.
"Sunshine Coast Health is already caring for patients with early-onset colorectal cancer through facilities at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Nambour and Gympie, enabling a seamless integration with the scientific program with UniSC," Dr Allen said.
"The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer is increasing and, as such, research into causes and how to best treat this unique subset is required to improve outcomes.
"The aim is to limit the devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis in such young people in the prime of their lives.
"Within Sunshine Coast Health we have seen an approximate 15 percent increase in the number of colorectal cancers diagnosed over the past five years.
"During this time, there has been a steady increase in the number of young patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, with eight percent of diagnoses under the age of 40 in this calendar year."
The wider collaboration is led by Associate Professor Dan Buchanan, Head of the Colorectal Oncogenomics Group at the University of Melbourne.
He said the increase in bowel cancers in Australians under the age of 50 was alarming.
"We think that new exposures, chemicals and bacterial toxins related to modern living are causing the increase in early-onset bowel cancer.
"By comparing modern-day early-onset bowel cancers with those diagnosed decades ago, we aim to identify how the risk factors have changed over time."
The three-year project has been jointly funded by the Australian Government Cancer Australia and National Health and Medical Research Council.
Dr Fennell is a UniSC and SCHI researcher.
