Researchers could take a step closer to discovering the cause of a colon cancer attack in relatively young people.
They discovered that eating too much sugar and not enough fiber causes the gut to produce bacteria that accelerates cell aging.
This makes them more susceptible to mutations and damage leading to cancer and less likely to fight the growth of tumor cells. according to new research presented this weekend at the world’s largest cancer conference.
Meanwhile, a separate study revealed at the conference hypothesizes that energy drinks may be fueling part of the colorectal cancer epidemic among those under 50.
The researchers behind this trial believe that an ingredient called taurine feeds and promotes the growth of harmful gut bacteria linked to the disease.
Evan White is pictured above with his fiancée Katie Briggs and their dog Lola. The couple began dating when Evan had cancer and got engaged when his condition stabilized. However, he died after four years of battling the disease.
These new findings come as rates of colorectal cancer among Americans under 50 are expected to double between 2010 and the end of the decade.
Doctors trying to understand what’s behind this rapid increase have suspected for some time that modern diets are somehow to blame.
Researchers appearing this week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago believe they’ve taken a step closer to understanding the role played by the food we eat.
In an abstract of the new paper, which has not yet been published, the Ohio State University team looked at genetic samples from younger – under 50 – and older people with colon cancer .
Marisa Maddox (pictured) was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 29. This made her infertile, depriving her of the chance to have the big family she always dreamed of.
Joe Faratzis, 34, from Los Angeles, is pictured above, in his 20s before his stage four colon cancer was detected (left) and during treatment that began in 2020 (right)
They found that younger patients who ate a low-fiber, high-sugar diet produced a bacteria called Fusobacterium, which increases inflammation throughout the gut by binding to pro-inflammatory proteins.
Fiber, on the other hand, slows the release of glucose (blood sugar) into the blood and feeds healthy gut bacteria that reduce inflammation.
Prolonged inflammation has been shown to age cells, and researchers estimated that regular poor diet in young colorectal cancer patients caused their cells to age up to 15 years older than normal. biological nature of a person.
This is a phenomenon called “inflammatory”.
Older cells are more vulnerable to cancer because they are more damaged and more likely to undergo mutations that make them susceptible to disease.
Meanwhile, older colon cancer patients had cells that matched their actual age.
Researchers estimated that while 20% of early-onset colorectal cancers are inherited from parents, the remainder of cases “remain poorly understood.”
“These data suggest that pathogenic microbes can cause inflammation, which leads to accelerated aging (early colorectal cancer),” the researchers write.
The team noted that the findings are consistent with other recent data, suggesting that processed, low-fiber diets disrupt the balance of the gut microbiome in a process called gut dysbiosis.
The results are in: 95% of Americans don’t get enough fiber, according to the USDA.
The agency recommends adults consume between 25 and 30 grams of fiber each day, which is roughly equivalent to two to three bowls of oatmeal or a cup of chickpeas.
However, most Americans only consume about 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day.
Additionally, researchers at the University of Florida launched a trial this weekend to evaluate the effect of energy drinks on young colorectal cancer patients.
The team is recruiting 60 colorectal cancer patients aged 18 to 40 with no family history of the disease to see if taurine, an ingredient in energy drinks like Red Bull, feeds H2S-metabolizing bacteria, which have been linked to an increased incidence of colorectal cancer.
The graph above shows the increase in colorectal cancer among young Americans from 1999 to 2020.
“These bacteria preferentially use taurine, an essential amino acid, as their primary energy source. Energy drinks represent one of the largest dietary sources (6 to 16 times the normal daily intake) of taurine in the contemporary diet,” the team wrote.
“Our hypothesis is that high levels of taurine in energy drinks could exacerbate the risk of CRC by promoting the preferential growth and metabolic activities of H2S-producing bacteria already present, thereby contributing to the (early) increase in CRC.”
As of March 2024, 32% of adults aged 18 to 29 regularly consume energy drinks, and energy drinks are the second most popular “dietary supplement” among adults in this age group behind multivitamins.
The study will complete enrollment in fall 2024.
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