EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Infectious Diseases

This month, we’re focusing on infectious diseases, a topic that affects lives and communities around the world. Here, you’ll find the latest research news, insights, and discoveries shaping how infectious diseases are being studied, prevented, and treated globally.

Rise in colorectal cancer among young adults in Germany as well — but below US levels

German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Colorectal cancer is generally considered a disease of older adults. However, a new analysis of German cancer registries shows that the number of new colorectal cancer cases among younger adults has risen slightly over the past two decades. Those most affected are people between the ages of 20 and 39. The findings are based on data from ten German cancer registries and cover the period from 2003 to 2023.

Journal: International Journal of Cancer

22-Jun-2026

Faster aging in younger generations linked to rise in early-onset cancer

WashU Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at WashU Medicine suggests that younger generations are aging biologically faster than their older counterparts. This faster biological aging was also linked to early-onset cancers.

Journal: Nature Medicine

22-Jun-2026

Colon cancer cells may change identity to metastasize

Weill Cornell Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Loss of GATA6—a transcription factor that controls which genes are turned on or off—can reprogram colorectal cancer cells into more primitive, adaptable states that can then spread to the liver and establish new tumors, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers. Understanding how cancer cells acquire the ability to metastasize could reveal new ways to stop this deadly process.

Journal: Cell Stem Cell

22-Jun-2026

Are certain demographic, birth, and parental characteristics linked to an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer?

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent study published by Wiley online in CANCER found that factors such as a person’s birthweight, sex, ethnicity, and father’s age may affect the risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a young age.

Journal: Cancer

18-Jun-2026

UCalgary study tears off colon cancer’s invisibility cloak

University of Calgary
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New University of Calgary research reveals that eliminating a single gene improves immunotherapy for colorectal cancer — a fundamental breakthrough.

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine
Funder: Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Cancer Research Society

17-Jun-2026

AGA: Colonoscopy remains the top choice for colorectal cancer screening amid new guidance

American Gastroenterological Association
Business Announcement

As new colorectal cancer screening guidance draws attention to the growing number of testing options, the American Gastroenterological Association urges patients and primary care providers to understand how those options compare. AGA experts emphasize that screening saves lives — and that the type of test matters.

17-Jun-2026

Study explains how colorectal cancer cells maintain high iron levels

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have discovered a key metabolic pathway that allows colorectal cancer cells to accumulate large quantities of iron. Blocking that pathway reduced iron levels and caused the cancer cells to die.

Journal: Cell Metabolism
Funder: Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Paradifference foundation

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

Latest News Releases

Rise in colorectal cancer among young adults in Germany as well — but below US levels

Faster aging in younger generations linked to rise in early-onset cancer

Colon cancer cells may change identity to metastasize

Are certain demographic, birth, and parental characteristics linked to an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer?

UCalgary study tears off colon cancer’s invisibility cloak

AGA: Colonoscopy remains the top choice for colorectal cancer screening amid new guidance

Study explains how colorectal cancer cells maintain high iron levels