Spike in deadly cancer before age 50 linked to common convenience foods

Eating a certain type of food could increase the risk of getting a deadly cancer at a younger age, researchers say.

A new study at Mass General Brigham has linked higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods, which largely include ready-to-eat foods with high levels of sugar, salt, saturated fat and food additives, to higher rates of precursors of early-onset colorectal cancer. 

The researchers analyzed more than two decades of data on the diets and endoscopy results of almost 30,000 women born between 1947 and 1964, according to a press release.

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All the women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II underwent at least two lower endoscopies before they turned 50. 

They completed dietary questionnaires every four years about their ultraprocessed food consumption.

Those who reported eating the most ultraprocessed foods (10 servings per day on average) were found to have a 45% higher risk of developing adenomas compared to those who ate the lowest amount (three servings a day).

Adenomas are growths in the lining of the colon or rectum. Although they are benign (non-cancerous), they are considered a precancerous type of polyp and could be an early warning sign of future colorectal cancer.

The study results were published in JAMA Oncology.

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“Our findings support the importance of reducing the intake of ultraprocessed foods as a strategy to mitigate the rising burden of early-onset colorectal cancer,” senior author Andrew Chan, chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and a gastroenterologist in the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, said in a press release. 

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“The increased risk seems to be fairly linear, meaning that the more ultraprocessed foods you eat, the more potential that it could lead to colon polyps.” 

While previous studies have linked ultraprocessed foods and overall colorectal cancer, this is the first study to link ultraprocessed foods with the early-onset form of the disease, according to the researchers.

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“One of the strengths of our study was that we had detailed information about other colorectal cancer risk factors in the participants, such as body mass index, Type 2 diabetes and low fiber intake,” said Chan. “Even after accounting for all these other risk factors, the association with ultraprocessed foods still held up.”

Other factors could contribute to the increase in early-onset colorectal cancer, the researchers noted, and some ultraprocessed foods are more harmful than others. 

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“Diet isn’t a complete explanation for why we’re seeing this trend — we see many individuals in our clinic with early onset colon cancer who eat very healthy diets,” said Chan. 

“Identifying other risk factors for early onset colorectal cancer is one of the focuses of the work that we’re leading here at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.”

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The study was funded in part by Cancer Research UK, the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer death. An estimated 154,000 new cases and about 52,900 deaths are expected in 2025.