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by Naveen Athrappully
Reporter
September 23, 2025
from
TheEpochTimes Website
Soda for sale in New York City,
in a file
image.
Spencer
Platt/Getty Images
'Daily diet matters
not only
for cancer risk
but also
for how the disease progresses
once it
has developed,'
said the
lead researcher
in the
Texas study.
Drinking sugary beverages containing fructose and glucose can
increase the risk that colorectal cancer spreads in the body,
according to a peer-reviewed study (Fructose
and Glucose from Sugary Drinks enhance Colorectal Cancer metastasis
via SORD) published on Sept. 19 by the journal Nature
Metabolism.
Researchers in the study exposed colorectal cancer (CRC)
cells to a combination of fructose and glucose, nearly
mimicking the physiological environment that results from consuming
sugar-sweetened beverages, according to the study.
This exposure was found to enhance,
"cellular motility and metastatic potential"
of the CRC cells, it states.
Cellular motility refers to the ability of a cell
to move from one part of the body to another.
It represents a key step in cancer's spread
across the body.
Metastasis refers to the spread of cancer
cells from a tissue or organ to another.
Researchers found that as CRC cells became more
mobile, it resulted in,
"faster spread to the liver - the most common
site of colorectal cancer metastasis",
...according to a Sept. 19
statement from the University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, whose researchers led the
study.
The glucose-fructose mix,
"activated an enzyme called sorbitol
dehydrogenase (SORD),
which boosts glucose metabolism and triggers the cholesterol
pathway, ultimately driving metastasis," it states.
Blocking SORD slowed down the metastasis process,
even with the presence of glucose-fructose mix, thus opening up
potential treatment options, according to the statement.
"Our findings highlight that daily diet
matters not only for cancer risk but also for how the disease
progresses once it has developed," said lead researcher Jihye
Yun from the Department of Genetics at the cancer center.
"While these findings need further
investigation, they suggest that reducing sugary drinks,
targeting SORD, or repurposing statins may benefit patients with
colorectal cancer."
Statins are heart drugs used to
inhibit cholesterol production.
The study was supported by
the Cancer Prevention and Research
Institute of Texas, the National Cancer Institute,
the Andrew Sabin Family Fellows Award, the V Scholar
Award, and the Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research
program.
The authors did not declare any competing
interests.
Colorectal Cancer in Young People
Colorectal cancer, which includes both colon and rectal cancers, is
the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the
United States, according to
data from the American Cancer
Society (ACS).
Among women, it is the fourth leading cause.
When the numbers of men and women are combined, colorectal cancer is
the second-most common cause of cancer deaths.
In 2025, ACS projects about 107,320 new cases
of colon cancers and roughly 46,950 new cases of rectal cancers
in the country.
Total colorectal deaths for the year are expected
to be 52,900.
"The rate of people being diagnosed with
colon or rectal cancer has dropped overall since the mid-1980s,
mainly because more people are getting screened and
changing their lifestyle-related risk factors.
From 2012 to 2021, incidence rates dropped by
about 1 percent each year," the ACS stated.
"But this downward trend is mostly in older adults. In
people younger than 50 years of age, rates have
increased by 2.4 percent per year from 2012 to 2021."
A July 24
report from the American Medical
Association also states that younger people were increasingly
diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a disease typically associated
with people aged 50 and older.
In May 2024, a study presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2024
detailed the following numbers for colorectal cancer incidence rates
between 1999 and 2020:
-
an increase of 500 percent for 10- to 14-year-olds
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a 333 percent jump for 15- to 19-year-olds
-
a 185 percent surge among 20- to 24-year-olds
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a 68 percent increase among 25- to 29-year-olds
This specific study analyzed data from a Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention database.
According to the ACS,
risk factors of colorectal cancers
include those that can be changed, such as lifestyle adaptations,
and those that cannot be changed.
Among changeable factors, key risks include,
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