NIH-funded study links chronic colitis to lasting changes in gut stem cells

The US National Cancer Institute reported on 25 March 2026 that researchers it funds found, in mice and organoid models, that chronic colitis leaves a lasting change in colonic stem cells that increases the activity of AP-1 transcription factors, and that colorectal tumours grew faster in mice that had recovered from colitis than in previously healthy mice. The authors say that, if this plays out similarly in humans, tests for these epigenetic memories could potentially inform patients of colorectal cancer risk early on. The report describes a research advance, not an approved clinical test.