2025 Natalie Shipman Memorial Lecture

Bowel Cancer – Nature or Nurture?

On the 27th October, over 250 people joined the event, both in person and online, to hear keynote speaker Dr Kai-Keen Shiu, Consultant Medical Oncologist at UCLH specialising in gastrointestinal cancers, explore the question: Bowel Cancer – Nature or Nurture? Dr Shiu discussed the dramatic rise in bowel cancer, including among younger people, and highlighted the important signs and symptoms to look out for as well as what can be done to reduce risk.

This annual lecture is dedicated to the memory of Natalie z”l, daughter of Susan Shipman, Chai’s Founder President, who was one of the catalysts that inspired Chai’s inception over thirty-five years ago. Diagnosed with cancer at just two years old, she sadly passed away shortly before her eighth birthday.

Chai Chairman Louise Hager MBE welcomed participants and shared updates from the past year. She said: “This is the first in-person Natalie Shipman Memorial Lecture we have held since Covid. During Covid, the lecture was held online and this year marks the first time we’re presenting it both, in-person and online. The advantage of hosting this as a hybrid event is that people can join us from all over the world – across Europe, the USA, Canada and especially from Israel. We are currently supporting 4,170 cancer patients and their loved ones, aged 3 to 99. This year 1,068 new clients have turned to Chai. We wish there wasn’t the need for Chai’s support but whilst there is, we are here with the most incredible dedicated and committed team who are passionate and driven to do whatever they can to help everyone who turns to us.”

Dr Adrian Tookman, Chairman of Chai’s Medical Advisory Panel (MAP), who has been involved with Chai for 32 years, noted that he first worked with Dr Kai-Keen Shiu in 2007, “We go back a long way,” he remarked – adding that it felt “so good to have people back in the room, face to face” as he introduced Dr Shiu’s lecture.

In his presentation, Dr Shiu examined current bowel cancer trends, emphasising the worrying increase in diagnoses among younger people. He addressed early-warning signs and symptoms that everyone should be aware of and discussed practical lifestyle factors that can help reduce personal risk. Each day, around 120 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer especially in the younger age group. Rates of bowel cancer between ages 25-49 have gone up by 52% since the early 1990s.

He said: “We’re really worried now because we’re seeing younger patients. It’s not right. Something is very very wrong and it’s not clearly genetically driven.”

Dr Shiu highlighted the critical importance of early detection awareness, explaining that “It is one of the most preventable cancers in the world. At Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 that’s still curative which is really important.”

He also explored ongoing research efforts aimed at understanding why bowel cancer rates are rising, particularly in those under fifty, and shared insights into scientific advances and the expanding role of clinical trials.

Immunotherapy trials led by Dr Shiu have shown that just nine weeks of immunotherapy can bring Stage 4 bowel cancer patients into remission when used instead of chemotherapy. For patients with Stage 2 or 3 disease, nine weeks of immunotherapy prior to surgery is showing improved survival outcomes. In some cases, tumours can effectively ‘melt’ away – demonstrating the transformational potential of immunotherapy.

Dr Shiu also noted that a significant focus of current cancer research is on gut health and the microbiome. Evidence shows that drivers of early-onset bowel cancer are strongly linked to what we put in our body. Alcohol, sugar, fat, refined foods, grilling and frying foods, processed meat, synthetic dyes, MSG, titanium dioxide, corn syrup and smoking are all implicated. Poor diet and chemicals entering the gut can trigger bacterial activity that leads to DNA mutations and cancer is caused by mutations to DNA. He said: “The healthier the microbiome, the better protected we are.”

The lecture concluded with a lively Q&A and excellent feedback. One participant shared:
“Dr Shiu was outstanding, engaging and informative. He made a complex subject easy to understand, gave real insight into the science and reminded us how much we can do ourselves through awareness and prevention.”

To watch the lecture, please visit: The 2025 Natalie Shipman Memorial Lecture