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Appendectomy: The Surprising Link to Colorectal Cancer
A recent study from China suggests that appendectomy may lead to harmful changes in the gut microbiome that contribute to colorectal cancer (CRC). In a three-part analysis, researchers observed a 73% increase in CRC risk among appendectomy cases compared with controls over a 20-year follow-up.
The study, published in Oncogene, suggests that appendectomy may promote colorectal tumorigenesis by influencing the gut microbiome and that surgeons should “more cautiously consider the necessity of appendectomy,” the authors concluded.
To understand the possible association between appendectomy and CRC risk, the research team led by Feiyu Shi of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, conducted a three-part study.
First, they analyzed a population of 129,155 adults who had an appendectomy and those who did not to assess a possible clinical connection between appendectomy and CRC risk. Second, they performed fecal metagenomics sequencing to evaluate characteristics of the gut microbiome in appendectomy cases vs matched normal controls without appendectomy. And third, they investigated a CRC mouse model with appendectomy to uncover a mechanism of appendectomy-induced colorectal tumorigenesis.
