Scientists have made an astonishing bowel cancer discovery that provides hope for addressing the increasing rate of the disease.
In the latest update, experts have found that bowel cancer cells can transform into skin or muscle cells, which allows them to spread more aggressively.
A study conducted by the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre and the University of Edinburgh revealed that bowel cancer becomes aggressive when cells lose their original identity, a process known as cellular plasticity.
Researchers found that the disease spreads when colonic cells begin to resemble squamous cells, which form muscle or skin cells.
Bowel cancer spreading at an alarming rate
Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, as it claims 16,800 people in Britain every year and has seen an alarming increase in diagnoses in younger people.
A recent study by the American Cancer Society published in The Lancet Oncology showed that the bowel cancer rates in adults aged 25-49 are rising in 25 out of 50 countries observed.
The cancer is reportedly increasing faster in Scotland's young women, as the country sees around 4,000 people diagnosed each year overall.
Moreover, the latest study found bowel cancer cells can adapt to resemble skin cells, which can tolerate much harsher day-to-day conditions due to their role in protecting the outside body.
Researchers are hoping that the groundbreaking discovery can help make current treatments more effective and stop the disease from spreading.
