Why you get colon cancer when you are stressed |

The link is ‘intestinal micro-organisms’
A Chinese research team investigates the balance of intestinal microbiota… When you are stressed, good lactic acid bacteria decrease.
Weak immunity affects the growth of colon cancer
‘Lactobacillus‘, a type of lactic acid bacteria… Increased ability to destroy tumor cells
“Effects of treatment with existing drugs”

For today’s people, chronic stress is considered one of the causes of cancer and cerebrovascular disease. However, it has not yet been clearly established how stress in humans leads to deadly diseases such as cancer. Chinese scientists confirmed the effect of stress on colon cancer. Research results show that ‘intestinal micro-organisms’ are the link between stress and colon cancer.

Jinlin Yang, a professor in the Department of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases at Sichuan University in China, studied the effect of chronic stress on the progression of colorectal cancer and confirmed that intestinal bacteria are the link between the two. held in Vienna, Austria on the 13th.

Analysis suggests that chronic stress can accelerate the progression of colon cancer by disrupting the balance of intestinal micro-organisms. It is expected that it will provide clues about opening new avenues for the prevention and treatment of colon cancer, one of the cancers that often appear in people today.

● Stress, weakening the immune response by reducing beneficial bacteria in the gut

Colon cancer is one of the types of cancer with a high mortality rate. According to the 2023 cancer death data from Statistics Korea, colon cancer is the cancer with the third highest mortality rate after lung cancer and liver cancer. The incidence of colon cancer is expected to increase in the future due to aging, eating habits, lack of physical activity, and obesity.

To prevent colon cancer or prevent it from getting worse, you need to reduce total calorie consumption, eat enough fiber, and improve bad habits such as smoking and drinking. The research team also emphasized that weight management and intestinal microbial balance are important.

The research team first applied a cocktail therapy of antibiotics such as vancomycin, ampicillin, neomycin, and metronidazole to a mouse model of colon cancer to eliminate intestinal microorganisms. Antibiotics are substances that inhibit the growth of microorganisms, and cocktail therapy refers to the combined use of three or more drugs.

Next, the research team performed fecal transplantation (FMT) on mice with colon cancer. FMT is a procedure in which beneficial bacteria are purified from the stool of a healthy person and then injected into the transplant recipient. Through this, the research team created mice with colon cancer with a healthy intestinal microbial environment and then subjected them to chronic stress.

As a result, chronic stress not only affected the growth of colon cancer, but also reduced beneficial intestinal bacteria, which are essential for developing an immune response to cancer cells. In particular, Lactobacillus, a type of lactic acid bacteria, decreased.

The research team explained, “The progression of colon cancer in mice under chronic stress may be due to a reduction in beneficial intestinal bacteria,” adding, “When beneficial bacteria are reduced, the body’s immune response to cancer is weaken and cancer will progress. ”

The research team gave Lactobacillus to mice while they were under stress to see how Lactobacillus affected the levels of cytotoxic T cells (CD8 + T), which play an important role in the body’s anti-tumor immunity, and the progression of colon cancer. . Cytotoxic T cells are a type of lymphocyte that can destroy tumor cells.

Analysis of mouse stool showed that Lactobacillus regulated bile acid metabolism and improved the function of cytotoxic T cells. Bile acid is known to interact with micro-organisms, alter the composition of intestinal micro-organisms, and influence the incidence and progression of cancer. The research team explained that “Lactobacillus can reduce the risk of tumor formation in stressed mice. ”

● Lactobacillus is emerging as a key to colon cancer treatment

Before that, a domestic research team also published a paper confirming the relationship between beneficial beneficial bacteria and the development of colon cancer. According to a research paper published by the gastroenterology research team at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in the international journal ‘Intestines and Liver’ in January, there were much more beneficial bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria and butyric acid bacteria, in the intestines. the body. healthy control groups than those of colon cancer patients.

The relationship between harmful bacteria and colon cancer has also been proven. According to a paper by a research team from the University of Bristol, UK, presented at the 2019 National Cancer Institute conference, the risk of colon cancer increases by 2 to 15% if there are many Bacteroidales bacteria in the intestines.

This study from Sichuan University confirmed the potential of Lactobacillus-based therapy in treating colorectal cancer patients affected by chronic stress. The research team explains that combining existing anti-tumor drugs with Lactobacillus products could be effective in treating colon cancer caused by chronic stress.

The research team said, “We discovered that some microorganisms could be targets for treatment,” adding, “The restoration of beneficial bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria could strengthen the body’s natural defenses. strengthen the resistance to colon cancer. “