Younger colorectal cancer patients have abnormally stiff colon tissue that promotes tumor growth, pointing to biomechanical forces as a key factor in early-onset disease.
Bioengineers from the University of Texas at Dallas co-led a study that uncovered a striking characteristic in colon tissue taken from younger colorectal cancer patients. Colorectal cancer has historically been considered a disease that mainly affects older adults, but cases among people under 50 have been increasing.
The researchers discovered that both tumor tissue and nearby healthy colon tissue were mechanically stiffer in younger patients compared with older individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Their findings were recently published in Advanced Science.
The results indicate that increased stiffness may create conditions that make it easier for colorectal cancer to develop in people under 50. The work could help guide future strategies to prevent or treat the disease, which is known as early-onset colorectal cancer, a form of the illness that has risen steadily over the past three decades.
“This is the first study to highlight the key role of biomechanical forces in the pathogenesis of early-onset colorectal cancer,” said Dr. Jacopo Ferruzzi, assistant professor of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and a corresponding author of the study. The UT Dallas team conducted the research in collaboration with scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW).
Researchers Investigate Causes of Increasing Cancer in Young Adults
“We consider this study a significant advancement toward identifying those at risk of early-onset colorectal cancer and finding new ways to treat them,” said co-corresponding author Dr. Emina H. Huang, executive vice chair of research for surgery at UTSW. She is a professor of surgery and biomedical engineering and focuses on colorectal cancer at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Rates of early-onset colorectal cancer have climbed recently. According to the American Cancer Society, it has become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among people younger than 50 in the United States.
Ferruzzi, who studies biomechanics and mechanobiology, said the project began after Huang noticed patterns in clinical cases.
“Our team brought an engineering mindset to the table to understand the physical mechanisms involved in early-onset colorectal cancer,” Ferruzzi said.
How Colon Structure and Collagen Remodeling Increase Tissue Stiffness
Ferruzzi’s laboratory is based in the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building on the UTSW East Campus. The facility hosts laboratories for both UT Dallas and UTSW researchers and was designed to encourage collaboration between the two institutions.
The colon normally functions as a flexible tube that moves waste through the body using coordinated muscle contractions. Its flexibility can change, however, if the extracellular matrix, a supportive network of collagen within the colon wall, thickens or becomes altered because of inflammation or fibrosis.
To explore this possibility, UT Dallas researchers performed biomechanical tests on tissue samples taken from colorectal cancer patients who were undergoing surgical tumor removal at UTSW. The study included tissue from 19 patients older than 50 with typical onset colorectal cancer and from 14 patients under 50 diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer.
Mechanical Testing Reveals Fibrotic, Collagen-Rich Colon Tissue
The team used microindentation testing, a method in which a tiny probe presses into tissue to measure how strongly it resists pressure. They also analyzed how the samples responded when compressed. Additional structural and genetic analyses supported the results.
Together, these tests revealed that both cancerous and noncancerous colon tissue from younger patients had fibrotic characteristics, meaning the tissue appeared scarlike and contained higher levels of collagen. Collagen normally helps maintain tissue structure, but excessive amounts can make tissue abnormally rigid.
“We know from previous studies that cancers are usually stiffer than normal tissues,” Ferruzzi said. “While this was true also in patients with early-onset colorectal cancer, we were surprised to find that both healthy and cancerous tissues from these younger patients were stiffer than those from older patients. This led our team to think that such stiffness could be creating a favorable environment for cancer to develop early in life.”
To investigate the potential effects of stiffness, the researchers grew cancer cells on biomaterials designed to mimic the physical characteristics of real tissue. In these experiments, cancer cells placed in stiffer environments multiplied more rapidly, showing that mechanical stiffness can encourage more aggressive tumor growth.
Organoid Experiments Show Stiff Environments Accelerate Cancer Growth
The team also created patient-derived organoids, miniature three-dimensional tissue models that replicate many features of the original organ. These experiments confirmed that when cancer cells are placed in a stiffer environment, they grow faster regardless of whether the cells came from younger or older patients.
Ferruzzi said the findings could eventually help scientists develop new ways to prevent or treat early-onset colorectal cancer.
Researchers from UT Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center carried out the collaborative study at the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building.
“If we can understand how physical forces fuel colorectal cancer progression, then we can actually think about early diagnosis and, possibly, therapy,” Ferruzzi said. “More importantly, we can ask the question: How do we stop people from developing cancer that early in life?”
Reference: “Biomechanical Phenotyping Reveals Unique Mechanobiological Signatures of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer” by Nicole C. Huning, Munir H. Buhaya, Victor V. Nguyen, Afeefah Khazi-Syed, Haider A. Ali, Adil Khan, Angela Fan, Robert C. Fisher, Zhikai Chi, Indu Raman, Guangchun Chen, Chengsong Zhu, Mengxi Yu, Andrew R. Jamieson, Sara Roccabianca, Victor D. Varner, Cheryl M. Lewis, Emina H. Huang and Jacopo Ferruzzi, 1 December 2025, Advanced Science.
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202514693
The project was partially funded by the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation through a $125,000 Collaborative Biomedical Research Award, a seed grant to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. Additional support came from the National Institutes of Health (R01CA237304-05, U01CA214300, P30CA142543), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons, and the UTSW Whole Brain Microscopy Facility.
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65 Comments
So what causes a stiffer colon??
I plowed through the article which repeatedly informed us that, yes, colorectal cancer is on the rise in younger folk and never came to the answer to the real question it raised. The article brings up a significant keyword: lifestyle, several times but makes no attempt to pull back the curtain on any speculation.
Bad food?
Artificial sweeteners/fructose?
Vaping leakage down the esophagus?
Lack of proper diet and exercise.
It’s obvious if your eating unhealthy all the time, we’re being told all the time about the foods that are carcegenic etc
Would taking Olive Oil dayly help keep your Colon Soft ?
The question they should be trying to answer is what causes the stiffness in the colon it must be something younger people are doing that older people are not like energy drinks. Is it restricted to North America or is this a world wide problem? Seems they really didn’t do much for the grant money.
Micro plastics in our food and water.
Yes! 🪻🌷🙂
That’s what I’m thinking, too. Microplastics.
Perhaps it’s a medications side effects? Or, depending on ages are these younger people between a certain age range 40 -45, 45-50?? Could it go back to immunization? When was zero coke introduced? As someone else has mentioned additives that were introduced when this age range was growing up.i would always look at modern medicines first as they always seem to have many side effects, then move onto drink & food.
Junk food.
School lunch food plastic
Everything related to not home food!!!
All of the above read genetically modified food that our bodies cannot break down we are eating glyphosate which are in the soil or eating forever plastics and we’re eating drinking water with bleach chlorine hexane fertilizer fluoride the body was not meant to digest these things
Wrong. Try Survival Of The Strongest.
C-Sections Have Made The Weak and Useless Live Through Birth. Passing On Weak Genes That Were Never Meant To Survive.
Nature Is Correcting Course. LOL!
Well said correct
Please help us from now on no junk fizzy drinks no plastic containers
Exactly my thoughts
Nitrites and low fiber are known to increase colon cancer risk and every package of meat I see these days is treated with 5-20% solution of nitrite to cheat on the weight and reduce the need for freshness and cleanliness. All the ulta processed food the young eat is low fiber and high nitrite.
I’m sorry but you’re kind of an idiot. They have done studies on this and by the time the meat is ingested the nitrite levels are often lower than 1ppm which is more than safe and lower than a typical cracker.
It also adds no weight as it’s the equivalent of walking through an ionic sprayer. People like you need to stfu and crawl back under your rock.
Imagine being this stupid and confidently wrong. Not sure if you’re trolling but if you’re not, you are truly a dumbass that struggles with basic concepts.
Wow! Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.
Yes, you are exactly right. Each time I go back to eat the forbidden luncheon meats, I get blood and when I stay away from those nitrates and keep up with fibrous watery veggies…it clears almost immediately. Stay oñ veggies and fruits, nuts and legumes.
Keep Trying and Failing. LOL!
Covid19 vaccine has to be the obvious cause as it has been reported that a wide range of medical conditions have been turning up in younger people that are normally found in older people
You’re commenting like you know the recipe to immortality! Feel free to elaborate and enlighten us all with your zero knowledge on this topic.
Corey ? You are the type that needs elimination.
That’s because its about a real scientific article which is looking at a very specific parameter. The cause of the stiffness is not really part of the study and is such a big further subject of study the article would be irresponsible to speculate without any actual evidence.
Yeah its frustrating, I was like you wondering “well what causes this stiffness” but still, this is how real science works. Explain things one step at a time, develop a firm evidence based understanding of a mechanism.
Modern Science Is Logically Flawed.
You Have WEAK COWARDS Trying To Find The Why and How, When They Haven’t Lived Enough To Have Common Sense. Which Is Why University Educated Humans Are Usually Clueless About Actual Life and How It Works.
Life Is All About Survival Of The Fittest. With C-Sections Weak Genes Are Passed On. They Were Meant To Die and Nature Is Making It Right.
Stop spreading stupidity. Your genes don’t seem to be good ones considering what ignorance you spread.
Republican much? Or is it better-named Repugnant? You wear your hate like it’s a badge of honor, but really it’s like holding a sign saying, “Hey look at how stupid I am!” Here’s your sign.
Cancer
My thoughts exactly so a simple Google search as to what causes increased collagen in the colon specifically points to SSRI. Also looked at the increase in SSRIs in the last 20 years and it’s showing it around 65%. Wondering if this is an indirect correlation as to causing increase in colon cancer among a lot younger people given the significantly increased usage of SSRI’s.
Hmmmm. Around The Time C-Sections Became a Big Thing and The MOST USELESS HUMANS Were Allowed To Live and Pass On Their Needless DNA. LOL!
No kidding
stiffness is usually caused by Lack Of Movement”, case solved, next
It said too much collagen can lead to stiffer colon tissue
Thank you! My question exactly! This article is completely useless and provides no valuable information.
I see all sorts of use of peptides to build cologen in young people had that link been looked at?
That Would Explain About 1%.
QUIT TRYING TO THINK WHEN YOU AREN’T SMART ENOUGH! LOL!
Roundup in our diets. Plain fact.
A simple Google search as to what causes increased collagen in the colon specifically points to SSRI. Also looked at the increase in SSRIs in the last 20 years and it’s showing it around 65%. Wondering if this is an indirect correlation as to causing increase in colon cancer among a lot younger people given the significantly increased usage of SSRI’s.
A lot of drugs can affect this. Apparently NSAIDs (aka common pain relievers) are also a factor.
Tbh I put my money on food additives, low fiber, microplastics, and overuse of medication.
What are natural way to treat colon cancer as I am under chemo. I started early January 2026.
My email is [email protected]
Regards
Realy sory to hear that, hope you beat it and get better xx
From the article: “…early-onset colorectal cancer, a form of the illness that has risen steadily over the past three decades.” While still only approximate, the time frame of the rise in colorectal cancer in younger Americans is also consistent with the rises in other chronic diseases since the FDA approvals of soy processed with toxic hexane with some residue in the late 1960s, the approval of the cooking oil preservative TBHQ with possible neurological effects in 1972, the expanded use of added MSG in 1980 and the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame in 1981 (e.g., Metamucil orange powder), minimally. Underlying all of that are a kind of sub-acute (nearly subclinical) non-IgE-mediated food (minimally) allergy reactions first identified, studied and reported on by 1935 by Dr. Arthur F. Coca, which mainstream medicine still ignores. With inflammation being a factor in more rigid colon tissue, there might also be a crystallized uric acid factor.” To quote an old adage: “You are what you eat.” If one wants to be real healthy then one needs real foods, not just FDA approved chemical concoctions in commercially mass produced pseudo-foods.
If it doesn’t grow on trees or harvested from the ground crops if it’s not freshly caught or slaughtered then don’t eat it processed food is full of unwanted and unnecessary additives and preservatives
I do hope that they find out soon. This is a horrible way to die. I’ve watched family members die from this disease and it is horrific.
Geniuses abound here. It’s the toxicity in our environment. Everything is designed to make and keep us sick. Why do you think Pfizer owns 90% of cheese manufacturering in the US (and that’s just the start).
That’s the truth of it.
Glad I never took that covid vax ha.
FTW!
We are waiting for the simple and we’ll simmurised information. Too much repeatetion.
With just the following points could be enough; Causes and how. Sign and symptoms,risk factors,how to avoid, treatment.complications
What causes the stiffness? is it cancer itself? So how is it the cause of fats cancer when it’s cancer that causes it. This feels like coding the cause-effect. I didn’t get anything there helpful.
My thoughts exactly so a simple Google search as to what causes increased collagen in the colon specifically points to SSRI. Also looked at the increase in SSRIs in the last 20 years and it’s showing it around 65%. Wondering if this is an indirect correlation as to causing increase in colon cancer among a lot younger people given the significantly increased usage of SSRI’s.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Pfizer+owns+90%25+of+cheese+true%3F&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe
No Pfizer does not own 90% of cheese companies.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Pfizer+owns+90%25+of+cheese+true%3F&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe
This article, as many readers have picked up on, completely fails to even hint at reasons underlying this alarming new data. It is beyond shameful medical and pharmaceutical research is NOT focused on discovering and treating root causes of the devastating diseases/”syndromes” rampant in America. Research focuses on uncovering yet another highly profitable drug to treat symptoms. Honest cures undermine the bottom line! Anathema to the all powerful pharmaceutical industry.
Take charge of your own health people! Do factual research, acquire education. Question everything, demand your doctor provide answers, not the latest greatest drug their drug pusher rep is pedaling to his/her office. Global statistics speak for the American model of healthcare. Dismal results at a high pricetag.
I think it’s the soft drinks, energy drinks, no water teens and younger, Poor diets, no exercise, and Vaping/Smoking
It is due to parasites that “providers” will either dismiss, or not understand. Most docs will be expecting a roundworm to be crawling out of an orifice, but parasites are much smarter than that. They are masters of camouflage, and their survival depends on not being identified. Modern diagnostic testing in the labs is not reliable for detection, even if the samples are saturated with parasites and/or ova. It is far too reliant on the individual lab scientists skills and education for identification of most parasites. Most labs are about bottom line numbers, not quality of testing. ALL large corporate labs are inept at identifying parasites. G.I. mapping should be the golden standard. I would urge everyone to buy themselves a microscope, and learn how to use it. Every home should have one, just like a screwdriver. The microscope is much more important tool, though. Most docs are either completely unaware, or immediately attempt to defer to a secondary psychiatric diagnosis, instead of addressing the root of the problem. One cannot expect more from an industry that makes billions on peddling drugs that only mask symptoms. This serves to compact the issue to become chronic. It is also evolves into the catalyst which creates multiple, severe secondary complications. Now you see how the system works. It is by design, do not be fooled.
These parasites cause nearly all chronic disorders, even psychiatric disorders and those we’ve all been taught were genetic or autoimmune disorders. You name it, chances are; parasites are causing it. Yes, many types of cancer as well.
A good place to start is to look up schistosomes, which they say do not exist in the United States. This is completely false. Many people are asymptomatic for decades. Docs will not believe you. They will try to make you think you are delusional. They’ve been taught this way.
These beautiful creatures are the most dangerous parasite in the world, only no one has heard of them. Why? They are in the soil, in the water, and can choose any host they wish to infect. They are not species specific, as the literature consistently states. Lies. Malaria gets all the hype, but is trivial, in comparison. Ebola virus is adolescent, and has recurring nightmares about schistosoma. Schistosomiasis boasts an 80% mortality rate, once the host enters the chronic stages, and then; hyper-infection. They do mate, but can also reproduce asexually.
Another common neglected parasite in humans are nematodes. It is my own opinion that this is what people have, when they think they have Morgellons disease. They appear as tiny fibers erupting out of the skin, and feels like needle pricks, or bites. Most times, so small they only appear as dust, or lint. The naked eye is not able to see their anatomical details. Easily transmitted by an insect bite, flies, mosquito bite, or even walking barefoot in soil or on the beach. Very common, although you would be extremely lucky to find a doc that would believe you, even an Infectious Disease specialist. Many will not even attempt to properly assess the patient. They don’t know “how” to look or even “what” they are looking for. They seem to only perceive that a parasitic worm looks like a nightcrawler; and would be immediately obvious…or are they simply carrying out their masters orders? This system is set up to reap wealth from suffering.
Western medicine “physicians” have more in common with politicians, lawyers, bankers; and parasites; than they do humans.
Sodium chloride (salt), garlic, oil of oregano, probiotics, wormwood, black walnut, and cloves is a good foundation of what you should know to combat and prevent parasites through diet. Knowledge is power.
This is an ongoing study, and everyone is jumping to conclusions, but there aren’t any yet. I’m 60 years old, and colorectal cancer is a small but still constant worry in my life. My grandfather died from it. I have a friend who’s been in the hospital at least a dozen times, and every time he comes out, his bowels are shorter.
The list of suggested causes is long. I’m not a doctor or researcher on this topic, but some of these “guesses” are quite out there with no apparent causality. At times like this, I like to fall back on Occam’s Razor. The simplest answer is often the correct one. It would therefore be helpful to stick to the simplest and most direct hypothesis, diet, and work from there. Back in the “Olden Days” when I was a kid, our diets were a lot simpler. Back then, the average American probably didn’t even know what collagen was. Now you can’t go to the store without seeing it on a food or supplement label. Instead of eating a balanced and nutritious diet, some people try to take the easy way to good health, and one of those ways might be supplements.
I had Bariatric surgery in my past, and I know the need for a balanced and complete peptide supplement. Taking specific collagen supplements to “bulk up” may be one cause that deserves examination. Taking too much of any one thing can be just as bad as taking too little. Imagine having a mass of collagen just sitting in your bowels. Your body might see all that protein and decide to bulk up that section of colon, triggering a cancerous growth. But as I said, I’m not an expert, but to me, a Colon + Excess Collagen –> Cancerous Tumor. Maybe. It’s worth a look. But then, microplastics makes for a good headline. And it’s almost as plausible.
Looking at the age group affected , you got to ask yourself what has changed in the last 40 years in all our house holds ?
In virtually every kitchen world wide sits a microwave ! and , what do we do?
defrost, heat and reheat in plastic dishes and takeouts ? FOOD!!
As a precaution I always transfer stored food into a ceramic plate or none plastic container prior to microwave cold food .
I may be wrong but ? sometimes issues are hidden in plain site and a health warning wouldn’t go amiss by the manufacturer ?
Well, I’m already 76, and never tasted on any preserved food…just veggies and fruits and rice…I once visited the hospital and it feels like hell….guys stay on eating fruits veggies and herbal plants…they preserved our human body….a healthy gut makes us feel good….
Corey, I’m 82 years old, living independently and not yet requiring any regular prescription treatments. For more of my “experience-based” (first serious adult illness at age 20 when foods were still real) findings I invite you to visit the “About” page of my ad free video channel. You just might be surprised to find out how little choice we really have in the quality of our diets and our medical care: https://odysee.com/@charlesgshaver:d?view=about
Wow, so you guys just completely gave up and you’re just showing out articles written completely by AI now that I as long as possible and repetitive as possible so we have to scroll past a bunch of ads
Nope. I’m blacklisting the site. Goodbye.
It’s all bologna. It’s a way to scare people into spending money to get checked. And then tell people your at risk. So they get scared and accept the treatment that cost thousands of dollars. Half the time I think they are dying from the treatment, but they won’t admit to that. Because it’s their meal ticket. My grandma was healthy at 75 years old. She was walking 3 miles every other day. After a visit to the Doctor he told her she had cancer and scared her into getting the treatment. She went from walking 3 miles every other day, to me having to go get her out of the yard because she was too weak to get up. This was a week after she started the treatment. 3 days after that hospice comes in to help. Before i knew they had her so doped up she can’t open her eyes or talk. Just mumble in her sleep. And then they upped her medicine and left with in 20 mins she had stopped breathing. It opened my eyes to a lot of things. Like she would’ve lived longer than 2 weeks if she hadn’t started that treatment. Lost all faith in the medical system after watching her go through what she did.
So..are these tissues naturally thicker in younger people?
It said they found it in healthy individuals as well.
I can grasp that this might allow the cancer to grow/spread faster, but that still fails to explain WHY they are getting the cancer.
The only problem here is the title of the article.
It has to be chemical scarring. Both tissue abnormalities and genetic damage leading to cancer. IMO.
When sucralose was first introduced in the early 2000’s and touted for its identical flavour to that of sugar, I was curious as to its nature. I was appalled to learn that it is a sugar molecule where the OH radical has been replaced by a chlorine anion. That effectively makes it a chlorinated hydrocarbon. May I remind you of some other famous ones: DDT and dioxin. I predicted then that in 20 years, gut cancers would spike.
… And there we are.