Colorectal Cancer: Protection May Come From a Common Food
A common food, stored inside the fridge, could prove to be a precious ally in the prevention of one of the most common tumors. The discovery comes from a new study conducted by researchers at Mass General Brigham (USA), who have identified a link between eating habits and changes in the intestinal microbiome capable of protecting against colorectal cancer.
Warning: There was no significant association between long-term yogurt consumption and overall colorectal cancer incidence, but an association was found in Bifidobacterium-positive tumors , with a 20% lower incidence rate among participants who consumed two or more servings of yogurt per week. This lower rate was driven by a lower incidence of Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer, a type of colorectal cancer that occurs on the right side of the colon. And armed with these data, the researchers hypothesize that habitual yogurt consumption may reduce the risk of proximal colon cancer , acting on the gut microbiome, although - as always in these cases - they emphasize that more research is needed to reach a definitive conclusion.
According to the researchers: prolonged consumption of yogurt, especially two or more servings per week, would be associated with lower rates of proximal colorectal cancer positive for Bifidobacterium , a bacterial species present in yogurt .
The study, published in Gut Microbes, found that this bacterial species is quite common: About 30 percent of colorectal cancer patients had detectable Bifidobacterium in their tumor tissue. "Our study provides unique evidence of the potential benefits of yogurt," says Shuji Ogino, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
La Gazzetta dello Sport
