The team, lead by David van Heel, Professor of Gastrointestinal Genetics at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have further demonstrated that of the nine coeliac gene regions now know, four of these are also predisposing factors for type 1 diabetes. Their research sheds light not only on the nature of coeliac disease, but on the common origins of both diseases. It is published online today (2 March 2008) in Nature Genetics.

Professor van Heel and his team, including collaborators from Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, first performed a genome wide association study in coeliac disease. Genetic markers across the genome were compared in coeliac disease subjects versus healthy controls. They then assessed around 1,000 of the strongest markers in a further ~ 5,000 samples. Their results identified seven new risk regions, six of which harbour important genes critical in the control of immune responses, highlighting their significance in the development of the disease.

Coeliac disease is common in the West, afflicting around 1 per cent of the population. It is an immune-mediated disease, triggered by intolerance to gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye containing foods), that prevents normal digestion and absorption of nutrients. If undetected it can lead to a number of often severe problems among them anaemia, poor bone health, fatigue and weight loss. Currently only a restricted diet can diminish symptoms.

Professor van Heel said: So far our findings explain nearly half of the heritability of coeliac disease - now studies with many more samples from individuals with coeliac disease are needed to identify the precise causal genetic variants from each region, and understand how these influence biological processes.

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According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Americans were eating an average of 36 ounces of red meat every week in 2006, Scroggs said. Scroggs recommends serving about three ounces (about the size of a deck of cards) of cooked red meat at meals. If you follow this recommended serving size, you can include red meat in as many as six meals of your weekly diet.

AICR also recommends eating very little processed meat (meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding chemical preservatives), such as ham, bacon, hot dogs, sausages, pastrami and salami. Every ounce and a half of processed meat eaten a day is thought to increase a person's risks of developing colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

It's a good idea to avoid eating processed meats as much as possible, Scroggs said. Save that hot dog for special occasions, such as a family cookout or the ballpark.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women in this country. The American Cancer Society estimates almost 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer in the United States for 2008. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Americans but is considered a highly preventable disease.

For more information on colorectal cancer prevention strategies, visit mdanderson/cancerawareness.

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