A new study suggests that table sugar may increase the risk of breast cancer. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center concluded that mice fed sucrose at levels comparable to those in Western diets were at a significantly higher risk for tumors and metastasis to the lung than mice given a non-starch sugar diet. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study was published in Cancer Research.
About 30% of the mice on the starch-control diet had measurable tumors at six months of age, compared with 50-58% on the sucrose-enriched diet. In addition, lung metastases were much higher on the mice fed either fructose- or sucrose-enriched diets.
The findings showed sugar’s impact on 12-LOX (12-lipoxygenase), an enzymatic signaling pathway, according to News Medical.
“The current study investigated the impact of dietary sugar on mammary gland tumor development in multiple mouse models, along with mechanisms that may be involved,” study co-author Lorenzo Cohen said. “We determined that it was specifically fructose, in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, ubiquitous within our food system, which was responsible for facilitating lung metastasis and 12-HETE [a fatty acid] production in breast tumors.”
Previous research linked breast cancer and higher sugar consumption, with inflammation considered a possible source.
“Prior research has examined the role of sugar, especially glucose, and energy-based metabolic pathways in cancer development,” co-author Peiying Yang said. “However, the inflammatory cascade may be an alternative route of studying sugar-driven carcinogenesis that warrants further study.”
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The study authors said the average person in the United States consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar annually, which contributes to obesity, cancer and heart disease. That’s the equivalent of 30 teaspoons of sugar per day.
That sugar total may be in question. A 2012 article in The New York Times noted that the federal Agriculture Department said the actual annual per capita figure was 76.7 pounds.
Sugar industry responds
The Sugar Association challenged the findings. It said the results were tied to animal studies only and thus not conclusive, according to Consumer Affairs.
“Not only do the authors misstate and exaggerate current U.S. sugar consumption and trends in consumption, they also claim the mice in the study were fed sugar levels comparable to levels in a Western diet,” the trade group said in a statement. “Yet, the data provided shows the mice were fed massive amounts of fructose (as part of sucrose) with the lowest level of fructose fed more than double U.S. consumption.”
The sugar industry has been under attack in recent years, with numerous studies tying sugar to medical issues.
For example, The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2015 about a study “linking sugar consumption with conditions that can lead to diabetes and heart disease in children.”
The same article noted that in March, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that sugar be cut to less than 10% of daily caloric intake for both children and adults, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July proposed revising nutrition labels to include added sugars.
