A growing link between antibiotics and colon cancer: Independent studies point to an association between antibiotic usage and proximal colon cancer, but a potential mechanism remains elusive. Among the well- established risk factors for colorectal cancer, research has pointed to obesity, sedentary behavior, a high-fat and fiber-deficient diet, and alcohol and tobacco use. Recent studies are now pointing toward another potential risk factor, at least for cancer in certain parts of the colon: a prior history of antibiotic use. Although the underlying mechanism is unclear, large studies in both the United Kingdom and Sweden have linked antibiotics with a higher risk for proximal colon cancer. "We would never say that this is more than associations. But the fact that they are reproducible elements, really, across very different populations makes you think that this could be real," says Cynthia L. Sears, PhD, a professor of medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Sears coauthored the 2019 UK study, which was based on countrywide records from local practitioners dated between 1989 and 2012.
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