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The Green

How new gene research could affect future colorectal cancer treatment

By Joe Irizarry

Published June 5, 2026 at 12:38 PM EDT

A group of people in white labcoats and protective eyegear stand facing forward smiling — A team of researchers at ChristianaCare have identified a genetic signature that could help understand how colorectal cancer develops and predict survival rates in patients. From left: Lynn Opdenaker, Ph.D., Brian Osmond, Bruce Boman, M.D., Chi Zhang, Victoria Hunsu, Caroline Facey, Ph.D. Not pictured Pascal K. Kataboh, Ph.D.

ChristianaCare researchers identified a developmental genetic pattern that showed how colorectal cancer develops. The findings revealed that certain types of genes drive cancer growth and resistance, and how the precise timing of how they develop is linked to colon cancer formation.

The research team’s work also showed the genes can predict survival in colorectal cancer patients, indicating it can be a marker of disease behavior and a target for future therapies.

This week, Delaware Public Media’s Joe Irizarry sat down with Bruce Boman, M.D., senior author of the study and senior researcher at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute to discuss this colorectal cancer research.

Newly Identified HOX Gene

ChristianaCare's senior researcher, Bruce Boman, M.D., joined DPM's Joe Irizarry to explain how this new gene's identification will help them understand colorectal cancer.

A illustration of the HOX gene, on the left a rendering of DNA with green and orange strands intertwined in helix configuration with purple and pink curled ribbon like strands attached to the proteins and on the right is a rendering of the HOX gene which is an intertwined blob of green, orange, purple and pink.

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The Green Helen F. Graham Cancer Center ChristianaCare

Joe Irizarry

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in news and radio to Delaware Public Media and the All Things Considered host position. He joined DPM in November 2019 as a reporter and fill-in ATC host after six years as a reporter and anchor at commercial radio stations in New Castle and Sussex Counties.

See stories by Joe Irizarry

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