Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer and the risk increases with age, with the incidence increasing from the age of 50. Tumors can occur in all sections of the intestine. Changes in the intestinal mucosa can lead to the formation of polyps, which can develop into bowel cancer over the years. 10 to 15 % of all bowel cancers are due to hereditary predisposition. Other factors that increase the risk of cancer are alcohol and nicotine consumption, little exercise and, above all, a high-fat diet. Researchers at the University of South Florida and the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute have uncovered a possible link between the Western diet – which is dominated by highly processed foods and unhealthy oils – and the chronic inflammation that drives tumor growth.
How Dietary Habits Promote the Growth and Progression of Colorectal Cancer
Sweets, pastries, fried snacks, sausages, meat substitutes, spreads and ready meals are among the highly processed foods, whereas fruit, vegetables, rice, fish, pulses and nuts are classified as healthy, unprocessed foods. The project’s first study examined how processed foods likely interfere with the body’s natural healing processes. “It’s well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies,” said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, a renowned physician-scientist and professor of surgery at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and associate center director for translational research and innovation at TGH Cancer Institute. “We’re seeing this inflammation now in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that doesn’t heal – when the body is living off ultra-processed foods every day, its ability to heal that wound diminishes because of the inflammation and suppression of the immune system, which ultimately allows the cancer to grow.”
These findings underscore the urgent need to re-evaluate the components of the Western diet, which typically consists of excessive consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, ultra-processed foods, chemicals and pro-inflammatory oils. Such a diet contributes to weight gain and obesity, with obesity being a recognized risk factor for colorectal cancer. In previous studies, the USF Health Heart Institute has found that an unbalanced diet not only impacts colorectal cancer, but also plays a role in other diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Reverse Inflammation With Healthy, Unprocessed Foods
According to Ganesh Halade, associate professor at the USF Health Heart Institute and member of the Cancer Biology Program at TGH Cancer Institute, our bodies are designed to actively fight inflammation through bioactive lipid compounds that come from healthy fats like avocados that we consume. Bioactive lipids are very small molecules that come from the foods we eat. When the molecules come from processed foods, they directly unbalance the immune system and promote chronic inflammation. Although the molecules are difficult to detect, Halade used a highly sensitive analytical technique to identify traces of lipids in 162 tumor samples from patients at Tampa General Hospital. The tumors were frozen within 30 minutes of removal and transported to his lab via the USF and TGH Cancer Institute Biobank in collaboration with USF Health’s Department of Colorectal Surgery and TGH Cancer Institute’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Program. Inside the tumors, the team observed an excessive number of molecules that promote inflammation and a lack of those that contribute to healing. These findings pave the way for a new, natural approach – Resolution Medicine – that focuses on restoring balance to the patient’s diet to more effectively treat colorectal cancer.
A person’s immune system can be extremely powerful and drastically affect the tumor microenvironment, which is great when it is properly harnessed for health and wellness, but not when it is suppressed by pro-inflammatory lipids from processed foods. Anti-inflammatory medicine would focus on reversing inflammation with healthy, unprocessed foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and derivatives of fish oil called “specialized pro-resolving mediators” to restore the body’s healing mechanisms along with balanced sleep and exercise. This, according to the researchers, has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by going beyond drugs and using natural healing processes. It is a crucial step in fighting chronic inflammation and preventing disease before it starts. Initial studies with specific derivatives of fish oil have shown promise in fighting inflammation at the root. The studies are being conducted at the TGH Cancer Institute and the team will continue to investigate dissolution medicine and its impact on patient treatment and disease prevention.
Diet is also Considered a Major Risk Factor for Colorectal Cancer in Younger Adults
A new Cleveland Clinic study has identified diet-derived molecules called metabolites as a major cause of colorectal cancer risk in younger people, particularly those associated with red and processed meats. The report, which analyzed metabolite and microbiome datasets, highlighted that one of the best ways for younger adults (under 60) to prevent colorectal cancer is to discuss their diet with their doctor.
Younger colorectal cancer patients had higher levels of metabolites associated with the production and metabolism of an amino acid called arginine and with the urea cycle compared to older patients. These differences could be related to the long-term consumption of red meat and processed meat. After demonstrating that arginine and urea cycle metabolites (and thus excessive red and processed meat consumption) are elevated in younger adults with colorectal cancer nationwide, the researchers plan to test whether certain diets or commercially available drugs that regulate arginine production and the urea cycle could help prevent or even treat colorectal cancer at a young age.