New Study Unravels the Connection between Colorectal Cancer Risk and Steatotic Liver Disease - Video

Lifestyle-related disorders have become increasingly prevalent, representing a major health crisis. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in particular, affects over a quarter of the world’s population. In addition, it is closely linked to diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorders, and constitutes a major risk for severe complications, including liver cancer and cardiovascular disease. While alcohol consumption and obesity are established risk factors for

colorectal cancer (CRC), a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality, mounting evidence supports the association between NAFLD and CRC.

Hence, a research team led by Dr. Takefumi Kimura from the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Japan, along with Dr. Nobuharu Tamaki from Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Japan and Dr. Shun-Ichi Wakabayashi from Shinshu University School of Medicine, Japan, conducted a nationwide population-based study to compare the risk and incidence of CRC across patients with SLD. Their study was published online in

Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

The study included patients with SLD and individuals without known liver disease for comparative analyses. The incidence and risk of CRC were compared among the SLD subgroups. It was observed that 0.19% of patients were diagnosed with CRC over the 4.5-year follow-up period. In addition, the risk of CRC varied significantly among patients with SLD, with the highest CRC risk observed in patients with ALD, followed by MetALD and MASLD. The study highlights differences in CRC risk across patients with different subgroups of SLD, underscoring the need for comprehensive CRC screening and risk stratification based on the new consensus-based definitions of liver disease.

The differences in CRC risk across the different subgroups may be attributed to their underlying pathology and interactions with other comorbidities. Mechanistically, alcohol may trigger CRC development through the production of toxic metabolites, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. MASLD/NAFLD, on the other hand, is associated with increased inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and insulin resistance, which in turn, elevates the risk of CRC.

Ref: Colorectal Cancer Incidence in Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD, MetALD, and ALD), Kimura, Takefumi et al. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Volume 0, Issue 0