In the Valley, researchers from Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic are joining forces to hunt for colorectal cancer earlier than ever, using immune system signals and blood based biomarkers to flag tumors before symptoms appear. The work is aimed in particular at younger adults, who are being diagnosed at higher rates than previous generations, and it links ASU engineering labs with Mayo Clinic clinics for clinical access and patient samples. If larger trials validate the approach, the tests could add noninvasive options to current screening pathways.
As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, a May 8, 2026 television segment spotlighted teams working to combine immune profiling with circulating biomarker tests to catch colorectal disease in its earliest stages. The broadcast underscored the collaboration between clinicians and engineers and showed how clinical samples and patient data flow directly into the research pipeline.
How the tests work
The project leans on two emerging tools: liquid biopsies that look for tumor derived DNA or other molecules in blood, and immune profiling that reads T cell receptor patterns for early immune responses to pre cancer. Researchers at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center recently reported that sequencing T cell receptors in blood can reveal immune “signatures” tied to colorectal precancers, suggesting the immune system may tip its hand before tumors are clinically apparent. Mayo Clinic scientists have presented data at AACR showing that the immune makeup around colon polyps can predict recurrence or progression, a finding that supports the use of immune markers for risk stratification as described by the Mayo Clinic News Network.
Why younger adults are a focus
Public health analyses say this focus on younger adults is not random. National data show colorectal cancer incidence and deaths have risen in younger cohorts, with recent statistics identifying colorectal cancer as a leading cause of cancer death among adults under 50. A recent review of colorectal cancer statistics lays out those cohort effects in detail in JAMA. In Arizona, Arizona PBS profiled Mayo Clinic Arizona’s Early Onset Colon Cancer Clinic and its efforts to diagnose and treat younger patients sooner, a clinic that also supplies clinical samples to research programs.
From classroom to clinic: ASU's role
On the ASU side, the university supplies engineering muscle and a steady stream of translational projects through its IMPACT master’s program, which embeds students at Mayo Clinic so they can turn clinical needs into prototypes. An ASU Engineering News profile describes colorectal surgeon Debby Keller and Mayo clinician Aman Verma helping move projects from bedside observations into development and testing. That bedside to bench link gives the partnership a clear route for pushing promising biomarker ideas into the kinds of validation studies clinicians require.
Next steps: trials and translation
To show the approach will work at scale, researchers will need large, clinically annotated blood and tissue collections and prospective studies that test whether biomarker panels actually predict cancer risk. Mayo Clinic Research pages list a comprehensive translational platform and multiple colorectal studies in Scottsdale and Phoenix that could host that validation work and early trials. If the markers perform well, they could be slotted into screening algorithms or used to prioritize patients for colonoscopy.
Scientists involved in this space emphasize that these assays remain experimental until validated, and routine care still follows established screening guidance. The USPSTF recommends that average risk colorectal screening begin at age 45, and people with concerning symptoms are urged to discuss evaluation with their clinician. For now, the prep and scope are still very much part of the standard playbook.
