In a new study from the University of Aberdeen and elsewhere, researchers found that antibiotic use may increase the risk of developing colon cancer, potentially more so among younger people.
They tested almost 40,000 people and compared antibiotic use and lifestyle factors of those who had colorectal cancer and those who didn’t.
While no link was found with rectal cancer, antibiotic use was found to be associated with the development of colon cancer.
The researchers also found for the first time that, while the overall numbers remain relatively low, antibiotic use was linked with an estimated 50% higher risk of colon cancer in people aged under 50, and an estimated 9% higher risk in those 50 and over.
In the study, the team analyzed data from the Primary Care Clinical Informatics Unit Research (PCCIUR) national primary care database.
They identified 7,903 people with colorectal cancer and compared them to more than 30,418 matched people without a cancer diagnosis.
They found antibiotic exposure was associated with colon cancer among all age groups.
This, along with multiple other dietary and lifestyle factors, may be contributing to increased cases of colon cancer among young people.
Reasons behind this link are purported to be due to the impact of antibiotics on the natural diversity of bacteria within the gut microbiome, which can potentially lead to altered bacterial activity and interfere with normal immune function.
This can lead to chronic inflammation and theoretically increase the risk of cancer.
The team says taking antibiotics is likely to have a detrimental impact on the gut microbiota.
Antibiotics can unintentionally induce gut dysbiosis, which may lead to permanent changes to the natural gut environment. This disruption to the gut microbiome may be what drives this increase in risk.
It is important to note that diet, lifestyle, stress, and so many different factors can affect gut health and antibiotic use is just one of those factors.
The team suggests that prescribing antibiotics should be considered very carefully.
If you care about colon cancer, please read studies about gut bacteria that could increase your colon cancer risk and drug that could stop colon cancer growth and recurrence.
For more information about cancer risk, please see recent studies about 3 things that could increase risk of colon cancer, and results showing this imaging tech could detect colon cancer with 100% accuracy.
The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer, and was conducted by Sarah Perrott et al.
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