Sugary drinks may increase risk of cancer: study
| Mar 26, 2019, 17:30 IST
While we all knew sugary drinks weren’t exactly good for health, a recent study added some graving concerns about them. According to the study consuming even one or two cups of sugar-sweetened drinks on an everyday basis has the capacity to accelerate the growth of the intestinal tumour. The same research team also said sugar can directly feed cancer growth. The research team at Baylor College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine in the US had conducted the study on mice.
"An increasing number of observational studies have raised awareness of the association between consuming sugary drinks, obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer," said Jihye Yun, assistant professor at Baylor.Jihye Yun also said obesity increased the risk of many types of cancer including colorectal cancer; and that the research team is uncertain whether a direct and causal link existed between sugar consumption and cancer.
The research team had generated a mouse model of early-stage colon cancer where the APC gene is deleted.
The mouse model of the disease helped the research team test the effect of consuming a daily modest amount of high-fructose corn syrup -- the equivalent of people drinking about one and half of a sugar-sweetened beverage daily -- on tumour development.
The sweetened water had a 25% higher fructose corn syrup. The research team found that the mice rapidly gained weight after consuming the sweetened water. But to ensure the mice didn’t become obese and to mimic human’s daily consumption of one can of soda, the team gave the mice a moderate amount of sugary water orally with a special syringe once a day.
After a period of two months, the team observed that the mice that received sugary water become obese, but developed tumours that were larger and of higher-grade than those in model mice treated with regular water.
"These results suggest that when the animals have an early stage of tumours in the intestines -- which can occur in many young adult humans by chance and without notice -- consuming even modest amounts of high-fructose corn syrup in liquid form can boost tumour growth and progression independently of obesity," Yun said.
However, she did conclude by saying that further research was required to translate this discovery to people and that being said one shouldn’t take the effect of sugary drinks lightly.
"While many studies have correlated increased rates of colorectal cancer with diet, this study shows a direct molecular mechanism for the correlation between consumption of sugar and colorectal cancer," Cantley said.
"Our findings also open new possibilities for treatment," Yun said.
"An increasing number of observational studies have raised awareness of the association between consuming sugary drinks, obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer," said Jihye Yun, assistant professor at Baylor.Jihye Yun also said obesity increased the risk of many types of cancer including colorectal cancer; and that the research team is uncertain whether a direct and causal link existed between sugar consumption and cancer.
The research team had generated a mouse model of early-stage colon cancer where the APC gene is deleted.
The mouse model of the disease helped the research team test the effect of consuming a daily modest amount of high-fructose corn syrup -- the equivalent of people drinking about one and half of a sugar-sweetened beverage daily -- on tumour development.
The sweetened water had a 25% higher fructose corn syrup. The research team found that the mice rapidly gained weight after consuming the sweetened water. But to ensure the mice didn’t become obese and to mimic human’s daily consumption of one can of soda, the team gave the mice a moderate amount of sugary water orally with a special syringe once a day.
After a period of two months, the team observed that the mice that received sugary water become obese, but developed tumours that were larger and of higher-grade than those in model mice treated with regular water.
"These results suggest that when the animals have an early stage of tumours in the intestines -- which can occur in many young adult humans by chance and without notice -- consuming even modest amounts of high-fructose corn syrup in liquid form can boost tumour growth and progression independently of obesity," Yun said.
However, she did conclude by saying that further research was required to translate this discovery to people and that being said one shouldn’t take the effect of sugary drinks lightly.
"While many studies have correlated increased rates of colorectal cancer with diet, this study shows a direct molecular mechanism for the correlation between consumption of sugar and colorectal cancer," Cantley said.
"Our findings also open new possibilities for treatment," Yun said.