IARC launches new website to support ECCE project

The overall aim of the ECCE project is to uncover some of the still-unknown causes of colorectal cancer, particularly of colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 years. Over the past three decades, incidence rates of colorectal cancer in younger adults have doubled worldwide; about 10% of all new cases are now diagnosed in this age group. This rising burden contrasts with decreasing rates in older adults, suggesting that new, as-yet unidentified, environmental or lifestyle factors may be driving disease in younger populations.

The central hypothesis of the project is that, over multiple decades, an increase in the prevalence of mutagen-producing bacteria, including pks-positive Escherichia coli, in the microbiome of infants in multiple countries has led to an increased mutational burden in colorectal cells early in life, and that this is primarily responsible for the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer.

IARC scientists are leading Work Package 1, to create a diverse international biorepository dedicated to colorectal cancer research, and the Management Support Team at IARC leads the day-to-day implementation of the project as part of Work Package 5.

ECCE is funded by the European Research Council Synergy 2025 Grant (ERC SyG grant no. 101224262).

Source: https://www.iarc.who.int/fr/news-events/iarc-launches-new-website-to-support-ecce-project/