The link between inflammation and colon cancer risk is highlighted in recent and alarming findings from Georgia State University:
- “The increased risks conferred by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to the development of colorectal cancer gave rise to the term “colitis-associated cancer” and the concept that inflammation promotes colon tumorigenesis.
- A condition more common than IBD is low-grade inflammation, which correlates with altered gut microbiota composition and metabolic syndrome, both present in many cases of colorectal cancer.
- Recent findings suggest that low-grade inflammation in the intestine is promoted by consumption of dietary emulsifiers, a ubiquitous component of processed foods, which alter the composition of gut microbiota.
- Our findings support the concept that perturbations in host-microbiota interactions that cause low-grade gut inflammation can promote colon carcinogenesis..
- Chronic inflammation is strongly associated with approximately one-fifth of all human cancers. Arising from combinations of factors such as environmental exposures, diet, genes, infections, or from dysfunctions of the immune response, chronic inflammation begins as an attempt of the body to remove injurious stimuli; however, over time, this results in continuous tissue destruction and promotion and maintenance of carcinogenesis – the formation of cancer.