Another danger of antibiotics

Overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of bowel cancer by up to 50%

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Scientists are concerned about the global increase in the consumption of antibiotics in people of all ages. According to the results of a new study, the consumption of antibiotics significantly increases the risk of bowel cancer in people of all ages and especially in the young. For people under 50 years of age, the risks increase by 50%.

It is estimated that in the period from 2000 to 2015, the consumption of antibiotics increased by 65%, but there are no direct reasons for such an increase, according to the website of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). Now ESMO experts have presented disappointing data on the potential relationship between antibiotic abuse and an increase in cases of bowel cancer (Bowel cancer data reinforce need to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use).

Until now, fast food, sugary carbonated drinks, alcohol, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle have been considered key risk factors for bowel cancer. Now scientists see that an excessive amount of antibiotics can play an equally important role in the development of the disease.

To come to this conclusion, scientists analyzed data from about 8,000 people with bowel cancer and compared the results with people without a history of cancer.

The consumption of antibiotics increased the risk of bowel cancer in people of all ages and especially in the young. In people under 50 years of age, the risks were 50% higher.

In people over 50, the risks were 9% higher.

In the younger group, the use of antibiotics from the class of quinols, sulfonamides and trimethoprim (broad-spectrum drugs) was associated with cancer of the first part of the colon (right side). "The contents of this part of the colon are more liquid, and the bacteria living there may differ from those living in the rest of the intestine," commented the author of the work Leslie Semuel.

Now scientists intend to evaluate the relationship between the use of antibiotics and changes in the composition of bacteria that can make the intestine more vulnerable to cancer. After that, it will be possible to accurately judge the presence of a causal relationship.

However, it is already necessary to limit the appointment and administration of antibiotics in cases where they can be dispensed with, the authors emphasize.

So far, the most difficult situation is observed in young people. Their bowel cancer is most often diagnosed in the last stages and this is often due to the fact that a comprehensive examination, including a colonoscopy, is more often prescribed to older people with similar complaints.

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