Ultra-processed food might be driving colon cancer risk by fueling inflammation in the body, according to a study scientists believe could "revolutionize cancer treatment."
Scientists in Florida have uncovered a potential link between inflammatory foods in the diet and the growth of tumors in the gut, by analyzing the tumors of people with cancer.
"It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies," said study author Dr. Timothy Yeatman, professor of surgery at the University of South Florida (USF) and associate center director for Translational Research and Innovation at the Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cancer Institute, in a statement.
"We now see this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won't heal.
"If your body is living off of daily ultra-processed foods, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allows the cancer to grow."
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Colorectal cancer—cancer affecting the colon, rectum, or both—is the fourth most common cancer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
The disease is on the rise among young people in particular, nearly doubling since the early 1990s.
And a study by USF and TGH has found that inflammation from diet might be one of the primary reasons why.
An image of bowel cancer with an overlayed photo of sliced white bread. Sliced white bread, fruit yogurt, wholegrain breakfast cereals and other similar foods are generally believed to be healthy, but often count as...An image of bowel cancer with an overlayed photo of sliced white bread. Sliced white bread, fruit yogurt, wholegrain breakfast cereals and other similar foods are generally believed to be healthy, but often count as ultra-processed food and many believe they might contribute to inflammation in the body.Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen / stacey_newman/iStock / Getty Images Plus / CanvaThe scientists at TGH removed, froze and analyzed 162 tumor samples from patients with colorectal cancer, looking at signs of inflammation.
Inflammation is a crucial function of the immune system, but in some people—such as those who eat inflammatory diets—it may never turn off completely, leading to constant, low-level, chronic inflammation in the body.
Inside the tumors, the scientists observed an excessive number of molecules that promote inflammation and a shortage of those that help resolve it and promote healing.
They concluded that these tumors might be driven by inflammation in the body, fueled by inflammatory foods in the diet.
Scientist Dr. Timothy Yeatman with Ganesh Halade, associated professor at the USF Health Heart Institute and a member of the Cancer Biology Program at the TGH Cancer Institute. Yeatman and Halade were both authors on...Scientist Dr. Timothy Yeatman with Ganesh Halade, associated professor at the USF Health Heart Institute and a member of the Cancer Biology Program at the TGH Cancer Institute. Yeatman and Halade were both authors on this study.John Dudley/The University of South Florida"[Ultra-processed] foods often use lower-cost inflammatory seed oils (soybean, sunflower, canola, etc.) along with high sugar and salt content, all leading to an inflammatory response," Yeatman told Newsweek.
"These foods are also common to fast food restaurants that serve rural and impoverished areas with less-than-optimal food choices."
Ultra-processed foods are defined as foods that have been produced industrially, using manufacturing methods and chemical additive ingredients that are not available to someone cooking at home.
"It is quite difficult to find any storebought bread anywhere that does not contain soybean oil as the primary oil," he said. "This is true for bread, cereals, donuts, cakes, cookies, chips, salad dressing and mayonnaise.
"It is fascinating to count the number of 'unrecognizable' ingredients in bread beyond eggs, flour, sugar and salt: preservatives, anti-mold, colors, etc."
The scientists concluded that their study could pave the way for the future of cancer treatments—something they called "resolution medicine"—which would involve replacing inflammatory foods with anti-inflammatory foods in the diet to help the body restore its own healing mechanisms.
"This has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, moving beyond drugs to harness natural healing processes," said Yeatman in a statement. "It's a vital step toward addressing chronic inflammation and preventing diseases before they start."
Yeatman told Newsweek that he hoped readers would begin to re-evaluate their food choices, read labels and avoid inflammatory foods.
"I believe we should rethink the food pyramid to include more vegetables, fewer grains, more fish and more grass-fed meats," he said, advising people to prioritize omega-3 in the diet, known to be anti-inflammatory.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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Reference
Soundararajan, R., Maurin, M. M., Rodriguez-Silva, J., Upadhyay, G., Alden, A. J., Gowda, S. G. B., Schell, M. J., Yang, M., Levine, N. J., Gowda, D., Sundaraswamy, P. M., Hui, S. P., Pflieger, L., Wang, H., Marcet, J., Martinez, C., Bennett, R. D., Chudzinski, A., Karachristos, A., Nywening, T. M., Cavallaro, P. M., Anderson, M. L., Coffey, R. J., Nebozhyn, M. V., Loboda, A., Coppola, D., Pledger, W. J., Halade, G., Yeatman, T. J. (2024). Integration of lipidomics with targeted, single cell, and spatial transcriptomics defines an unresolved pro-inflammatory state in colon cancer, Gut. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2024-332535.
