In a new study, researchers found that colon cancer tumor cells produce energy for growth differently in women and men.
This difference is associated with a more aggressive form of tumor growth with a higher incidence in women.
The work may help to determine what can be done to prevent worse outcomes for women who develop this deadlier form of colon cancer.
The research was conducted by a team at Yale School of Public Health.
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, with 145,600 new cases and 51,000 deaths each year.
Women have a lower rate of colon cancer than men but a higher prevalence of right-sided colon cancer, a deadlier form of cancer that is associated with a 20% increased risk of death compared with cancer of the left side.
The study found clues to the underlying mechanisms driving this difference in colon cancer risk.
Using new techniques collectively called “metabolomics,” the researchers examined the molecular products of digestion and cellular processes created by the foods people consume, their hormone production, and the specific bacteria residing inside the colon.
Examining normal colon and tumor tissue samples from women and men with colon cancer, the researchers analyzed concentrations and interactions of metabolites, the small chemicals such as sugars and amino acids which are transformed during metabolism.
They found that women with right-sided colon cancer have increased levels of metabolites known as fatty acids, which undergo a process known as fatty acid oxidation to produce energy.
They also have increased levels of glutamine and asparagine, amino acids which have been linked to more aggressive tumor growth.
In contrast, men with colon cancer have increased levels of metabolites such as lactate, which produce energy through a different pathway.
These results indicate that colon cancer tumors grow differently in women and men and thus may require different approaches to stop their growth.
In addition, the researchers examined clinical outcomes of patients and found lower survival rates for women with colon cancer whose tumors showed a sex-specific molecular pathway for cellular energy production.
The researchers aim to eventually identify a biological indicator to serve as a warning for the development of the deadlier right-sided colon cancer, which is more difficult to identify at early stages compared with left-sided colon cancer.
One author of the study is Caroline Johnson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Epidemiology.
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
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