New research may have uncovered an unexpected factor behind the mysterious rise in colon cancer cases in young people.
The study found that patients with high blood sugar levels were up to 65 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer before age 50 than their peers.
Diabetics had the highest risk, but those with prediabetes (where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes) also had an elevated risk.
Experts who analyzed the medical records of more than 500,000 people as part of the study are now calling for “tighter glucose control” to be a priority for young people.
It is thought that having high blood sugar levels may partly increase the risk of cancer because cancer cells use excess glucose for fuel. The findings could be significant, given that around 100 million Americans and 5 million people in the UK have prediabetes.
The graph above shows the increase in colorectal cancer in Americans under age 50 over the past two decades.
Data from JAMA Surgery showed that colon cancer is expected to increase by 90 percent in people ages 20 to 34 by 2030.
Diets high in carbohydrates and sugar and low in fiber can cause high blood glucose levels, as can not exercising and sitting too much.
The United States has the sixth highest rate of early-onset cancers (87 cases per 100,000 people), and colon cancer is among the fastest growing.
Diagnoses among people under age 50, who are classified as early-onset, are expected to increase by 90 percent in people ages 20 to 34 between 2010 and 2030.
Experts have tried to blame everything from ultra-processed ingredients to a change in the body’s microbiome—collection of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
But now, scientists may have found a link between blood sugar and colon cancer.
Blood sugar levels are the amount of glucose in the blood. Glucose is a type of sugar that comes from food and is the body’s main source of energy.
A normal blood glucose range is 70 to 99 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
Levels between 100 and 125 mg/dL are considered prediabetic, and any level of 126 mg/dL or higher classifies a person as type 2 diabetic.
However, a person can have higher than normal glucose levels, a condition called hyperglycemia, without having diabetes.
Some causes may include a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar, lack of physical activity, obesity, physical trauma, infections, stress, certain medications, and other medical conditions such as pancreatic diseases, Cushing’s syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Symptoms of hyperglycemia include extreme thirst, frequent urination, recurrent infections, weight loss, and blurred vision.
the new study was conducted by a group of researchers from Beijing, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Peking Union College of Medicine.
The medical records of two cohorts of adults were analyzed: one group from the United Kingdom and another from China.
The researchers found that, in general, a higher blood glucose level was associated with a higher risk of developing early colorectal cancer.
Levels above 126 mg/dL were associated with a 61 percent increased risk of early-onset CRC compared with people with levels below 126 mg/dL in the UK cohort.
Among the Chinese cohort, glucose levels above 126 mg/dL were associated with a 65 percent increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer.
The above shows the symptoms and their frequency in early-onset patients, those who develop colon cancer before age 50, and late-onset patients, those who develop cancer after age 50.
The researchers, whose study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Center, said their results suggest that “tighter glucose control should be a priority for younger age groups.”
Researchers gave several reasons for the connection between blood sugar and colorectal cancer.
First, high glucose levels can directly damage DNA and promote the proliferation of damaged cells.
It can also facilitate the migration and invasion of cancer cells throughout the body.
Second, cancer cells use glucose, so high levels in the body provide the cells with more energy.
High blood sugar also disrupts certain signals in the body that can stimulate the growth and movement of cancer cells.
Finally, the study stated, elevated glucose levels have been associated with chronic stress and inflammation within the body, which are possible contributors to cancer.
The researchers wrote that the rise in early-onset colon cancers represents a “significant cancer burden among young adults… (and) the drivers of this concerning trend are not well understood.”
Ream wrote: “…our findings underscore the need for increased public health efforts targeting obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and hyperglycemia as part of a multipronged approach to mitigate the growing burden of CRC, especially in older age groups. younger.”
Experts aren’t sure exactly what is causing the rise in early-onset cancers, but they postulate it could be a diet high in meat and fat, increased obesity, or exposure to ultra-processed foods, artificial ingredients and additives. as well as harmful chemicals.
One factor previously thought to be behind the increase was prior antibiotic use. However, a new and separate study in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, found that the few studies that examined this link reported conflicting results.
California researchers examined the medical records of 4.5 million patients in the state’s Kaiser Permanente health care system and analyzed the records of people ages 18 to 49 who had been diagnosed with early-onset colon cancer between 1998. and 2020 with a history of taking oral antibiotics.
The results showed that a relationship between prior antibiotic use in adulthood and early-onset CRC was not statistically significant.
Separate research from the University of Missouri-Kansas City looked at colorectal cancer rates in people ages 10 to 44 over the past two decades and found that cases had increased in all age groups.
The rate of colorectal cancer increased by 500 percent among children ages 10 to 14 and 333 percent among adolescents ages 15 to 19.
Rates rose 71 percent among people ages 30 to 34, to seven cases per 100,000 people. And among people ages 35 to 39, rates rose 58 percent to 12 cases per 100,000 people.
According to the ACS, 37 percent of colorectal cancers occur in people under age 50, compared to 24 percent in people age 65 and older.
And CRCs have increased two percent in people under age 55 since the mid-1990s and deaths have increased one percent since the mid-2000s.
The five-year survival rate for CRC is 64 percent, but drops to 14 percent if the cancer has spread, which commonly occurs in early-onset cases because symptoms are often not present or misdiagnosed. until the cancer has spread throughout the body.
Symptoms include changes in toileting habits, blood in the stool, weakness, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, a lump in the abdomen or rectum, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, constipation, and vomiting.