Have doctors cracked mystery of rising cancer cases in young people? Low-fiber diets and too much sugar to blame for surging rates, say experts

Researchers may be one step closer to unravelling the cause of a rise in colon cancers in relatively young people.

A group of US scientists suggest a combination of eating too much sugar and not enough fiber causes the gut to produce a bacteria that 'speeds up the aging' of cells.

This could make them more susceptible to mutations that leads to cancer and less likely to be able to fight off the growth of tumor cells, according to preliminary research announced at the world's largest cancer conference this weekend.

Over the last few years, the number of young adults diagnosed with colon cancer has surged, with experts unsure of the cause.

In an abstract of the new paper, which has not been published yet, a team from Ohio State University looked at genetic samples of young - under age 50 - and older people with colon cancer. 

The above graph shows the rise of colorectal cancer in young Americans from 1999 through 2020

Evan White is pictured above with his fiancée Katie Briggs and their dog Lola. The pair had started dating when Evan had cancer and got engaged when his condition stabilized. However, he passed away after four years fighting the disease 

They claim to have found that younger patients who had diets low in fiber and high in sugar produce a type of bacteria called Fusobacterium, which increases inflammation throughout the gut. 

Fiber, in contrast, slows the release of glucose in the blood (blood sugar) and feeds healthy gut bacteria that lower inflammation.

Sustained inflammation has been shown to 'age' cells, and the researchers estimated that regular poor diets in young colorectal cancer patients aged their cells by up to 15 years older than a person's biological age. 

This is a phenomenon some have dubbed 'inflammaging.'

Marisa Maddox (pictured) was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 29. It has made her infertile, robbing her of the chance to have the large family she always wanted 

Joe Faratzis, 34, from Los Angeles, is pictured above in his twenties before his stage-four colon cancer was detected (left) and during treatment which began in 2020 (right)

The researchers, speaking at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), estimated that while around five per cent of bowel cancer cases are due to genetic conditions, the rest of cases 'remain poorly understood.'

'These data suggest that pathogenic microbes may induce inflammation, which leads to accelerated aging in [early-onset colorectal cancer],' the researchers wrote. 

The team noted that the findings align with other recent data, suggesting that low-fiber, processed diets throw off the gut microbiome balance in a process called intestinal dysbiosis. 

The findings come 95 percent of Americans don't get enough fiber, according to the USDA. 

The agency recommends that adults get between 25 and 30 grams of fiber every day, which is roughly the equivalent of two to three bowls of oats or one cup of chickpeas.

However, most Americans consume only about 10 to 15 grams of fiber a day.

Meanwhile, as few a nine per cent of people in the UK currently consume the recommended 30g of fibre per day. 

The number of people under 50 being diagnosed with cancer in the UK has risen by 24 per cent in two decades, a sharper increase than any other age group, and doctors trying to work out what's behind the rapid rise have suspected for some time that modern diets are to blame in some way. 

Early onset cancers are still uncommon. About 90 per cent of all cancers affect people over the age of 50. 

However earlier this week, UK cancer expert Professor Charles Swanton expressed concern over the rise in younger cancer diagnoses.

He said: 'Over recent decades, there has been a clear increase in cancer incidence rates in young adults in the UK. 

'Evidence suggests that more adults under 50 may be getting cancer than ever before.

'Although these cases are a small proportion of the overall population and still relatively uncommon, the trend is important, and it requires further investigation.

'Increased exposure to known as well as unknown cancer risk factors, changes to lifestyles and diets over time, and rising obesity may all contribute to the uptick.'

Today, two in three adults in the UK overweight or obese, he added: 'Genetics, improvements in diagnosis and screening and the microbiome could also play a role.

'We are seeing them through our clinics and it is disturbing and we don’t have a good answer as to why this is happening.'

Additionally, researchers at the University of Florida introduced a trial this weekend which will aim to evaluate the effect of energy drinks on young colorectal cancer patients.

The team is recruiting 60 colorectal cancer patients ages 18 to 40 with no family history of the disease to see if taurine, an ingredient in energy drinks like Red Bull, feeds H2S-metabolizing bacteria, which has been linked to increased incidences of colorectal cancer. 

'These bacteria preferentially use taurine, an essential amino acid, as a primary energy source. Energy drinks represent one of the largest dietary sources (6-16x normal daily intake) of taurine in contemporary diet,' the team wrote.

'Our hypothesis is that high taurine levels in energy drinks could exacerbate CRC risk by promoting preferential growth and metabolic activities of already present H2S-producing bacteria, contributing to the rise of [early-onset] CRC.'

As of March 2024, 32 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 consume energy drinks regularly, and energy drinks are the second-most popular 'dietary supplement' among adults in that age group behind multivitamins. 

The study will finish enrolling in Fall 2024.