Appendiceal Cancer on the Rise
Factors driving the explosive growth in occurrence of appendiceal cancer over the past 20 years have been unclear for this extremely rare cancer, but a 2020 study showed that the overall incidence of malignant appendiceal tumors in the United States grew by 232% from 2000 to 2016.1 The highest rate of increase for appendiceal malignant tumors are being diagnosed among younger age groups with the peak in young patients between ages 38 and 51.2
Appendiceal cancers are a type of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumor that is usually found after complaints of other abdominal conditions or incidentally during or after surgery for appendicitis. The preferred treatment for appendiceal cancer in patients is removal of the right side of the colon. Risk factors other than age include being female, being Caucasian, a history of smoking &/or having family history of primary GI malignancy.3
Recently, studies have shown the role the appendix plays in maintaining the homeostatic biodiversity of the gut microbiome. It provides protective commensal bacteria and produces immunoglobulin, increasing immunity. Absence of the appendix may result in disruption of the homeostasis of the microbiome. It’s thought appendectomy potentially influences the risk of developing colorectal cancer.4
From a functional medicine perspective, at Hyperion Functional Medicine, we target treatment of the G.I. tract. First identifying symptoms beginning in the G.I. tract, and then testing the G.I. microbiome to identify a cause or causes contributing to cancer’s growth and proliferation. With testing of the G.I. microbiome, we then apply a functional oncology treatment plan to diagnose and treat inflammation and infection, which we know directly impacts cancer.
Contact Hyperion Functional Medicine to learn more about appendiceal cancer.
1: Singh H, Koomson AS, Decker KM, Park J, Demers AA. Continued increasing incidence of malignant appendiceal tumors in Canada and the United States: a population-based study. Cancer. 2020;126(10):2206-2216. doi:10.1002/cncr.32793
2: Andrini E, Lamberti G, Alberici L, Ricci C, Campana D. An Update on Appendiceal Neuroendocrine Tumors. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023 Jul;24(7):742-756. doi: 10.1007/s11864-023-01093-0. Epub 2023 May 4. PMID: 37140773; PMCID: PMC10271885.
3: Alkhayyat M, Saleh MA, Coronado W, Abureesh M, Zmaili M, Qapaja T, Almomani A, Khoudari G, Mansoor E, Cooper G. Epidemiology of neuroendocrine tumors of the appendix in the USA: a population-based national study (2014-2019). Ann Gastroenterol. 2021 Sep-Oct;34(5):713-720. doi: 10.20524/aog.2021.0643. Epub 2021 Jun 14. PMID: 34475743; PMCID: PMC8375642.
4: Shi, F., Liu, G., Lin, Y. et al. Altered gut microbiome composition by appendectomy contributes to colorectal cancer. Oncogene 42, 530–540 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-022-02569-3