While the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States and commonly seen in people older than 50 years old, over the past several years, the amount of younger people developing colon cancer has been increasing at a noticeable rate.
Additionally, in the importance of the intestinal microbiome has become increasingly better understood in the role of our health. Antibiotics create a huge disturbance in the balance of the healthy and unhealthy bacteria in the gut.
Researchers from the United Kingdom’s University of Aberdeen, published in British Journal of Cancer, found that antibiotic use in younger people was linked to developing colon cancer earlier in life.
The authors reviewed data of approximately 40,000 people from 1999 to 2011 and for those who developed cancer, they were split into two groups: early-onset for those who developed colon cancer before 50 years old and late-onset for people who developed colon cancer after 50 years old.
Analyzing the two groups separately, they found that antibiotic use was associated with approximately 49% higher risk of colon cancer in people under 50 years old, and only 9% higher risk in people over 50 years old. The majority of people who developed colon cancer in their data set were men at 55%.
Most notably, antibiotics that acted anaerobic bacteria had a slightly higher association of developing colon cancer in both groups, while antibiotics acting on non-anaerobes did cause a significant increase in colon cancer risk in younger people.
Gut bacteria is highly involved in breaking down food, maintaining the proper environmental properties the nourish the cells of the colon, and have an important role in the immune system. When one takes antibiotics, especially against the advice for their doctors, they kill off keystone bacteria that is needed to maintain a healthy gut.
Most people need to stop crying to their doctor about every little infection in their body and demanding they be prescribed an antibiotics and healthcare workers have the responsibility to refuse treatments they feel are unnecessary. Not only is irresponsible use of antibiotics leading to an increase in dangerous amount of multiple-drug resistant bacteria, it’s also causing harm to the body in noninfectious ways.
R McDowell et al. Oral antibiotic use and early-onset colorectal cancer: findings from a case-control study using a national clinical database. British Journal of Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-021-01665-7
