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Over 100 Common Medications Found to Disrupt Gut Health and Raise Risk of Colon Cancer, Researchers Warn

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A stunning new study out of Stanford University has identified more than 140 widely used medications that can severely disrupt the gut microbiome and may significantly raise the risk of colorectal cancer, now one of the fastest-growing cancers among younger adults.

Researchers found that a wide range of drugs—including 51 antibiotics, antifungals, chemotherapies, and even some antipsychotic medications used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia—can trigger a dangerous chain reaction in the gut. These medications not only kill bacteria directly but also reshape the nutrient landscape inside the intestines, forcing bacteria to fight for survival in ways that may dramatically and permanently shift the body’s microbial balance.

How Medications Create a Cancer-Promoting Gut Environment

The microbiome—trillions of bacteria that help regulate digestion, immune response, metabolism, and protection against disease—relies on a delicate balance. When drugs wipe out weaker or more beneficial bacteria, the nutrients they once consumed are suddenly left available for other, often harmful, strains to feast on.

This allows inflammatory and drug-resistant bacteria to surge in population, creating a gut environment known to trigger:

Chronic intestinal inflammation

Damage to the intestinal lining

Cell mutations linked to colon cancer growth

A permanent shift in gut microbial composition

“In other words, drugs don’t just kill bacteria; they also reshuffle the ‘buffet’ in our gut, and that reshuffling shapes which bacteria win,” said lead researcher Dr. Handuo Shi.

Chronic Inflammation is the Key Link to Cancer

When harmful bacteria dominate, they produce toxins and enzymes that:

Damage DNA in colon cells

Erode the gut’s mucosal barrier

Allow inflammatory molecules and toxins to leak into surrounding tissues

Promote tumor formation and growth

Such persistent inflammation is now widely recognized as a major driver of early-onset colorectal cancer, which has sharply increased in adults under 50.

Study Warns: America’s Favorite Ready-to-Eat Foods May Be Fueling Early Colon Cancer

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A sharp rise in colorectal cancer among adults under 50 may be tied to the foods millions of Americans eat every day, according to a major new study from Mass General Brigham. Researchers say diets high in ultraprocessed foods—a category that includes many ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat items loaded with sugar, salt, saturated fats, and additives—are strongly associated with precursors to early-onset colon cancer.

The study, published in JAMA Oncology, analyzed more than 20 years of dietary and medical data from nearly 30,000 women in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study II. All participants, born between 1947 and 1964, underwent at least two lower endoscopies before age 50 and completed detailed dietary questionnaires every four years.

Researchers found a striking trend:

Women who consumed the highest levels of ultraprocessed foods—about 10 servings per day—had a 45% higher risk of developing adenomas compared to those who consumed the least (around three servings). Adenomas are benign but precancerous polyps that often serve as early warning signs for colorectal cancer.

“The increased risk seems to be fairly linear,” said senior author Dr. Andrew Chan, chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute. “The more ultraprocessed foods you eat, the more potential that it could lead to colon polyps.”

While previous research has connected ultraprocessed diets to colorectal cancer overall, this is the first study to specifically link them to early-onset colorectal cancer, a form of the disease that has been rising rapidly in younger adults.

Researchers also emphasized that the link held true even after accounting for other risk factors such as low fiber intake, Type 2 diabetes, and higher BMI.

The study is observational, meaning it shows a connection but can’t prove direct causation. Still, experts say the findings align with other research pointing to potential inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and chemical additives in ultraprocessed foods as contributors to disease.

Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News senior medical analyst not involved in the research, called the study “very exciting,” noting it adds to a growing body of evidence about the metabolic and inflammatory dangers of ultraprocessed diets.

Researchers caution that not all ultraprocessed foods carry the same level of risk, and more work is needed to identify which specific ingredients or manufacturing processes are most harmful.

But one conclusion, they say, is clear:

Reducing ultraprocessed food intake may be an important strategy for lowering early-onset colorectal cancer risk—a disease that is increasingly striking people decades before routine screening begins.

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Poor Oral Hygiene Linked to Tripled Risk of Pancreatic Cancer, New Study Finds

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That unbrushed mouth may be doing more than turning people away — it could be quietly raising your risk of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

A major new study from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center has identified more than two dozen microbes in the mouth that may significantly increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, a disease notorious for its low survival rate and late detection. The findings, published in JAMA Oncology, suggest that oral hygiene may play a far more critical role in cancer prevention than previously thought.

The research tracked 122,000 individuals over nine years, analyzing their saliva for bacterial and fungal DNA. Comparing data from 445 pancreatic cancer patients with 445 matched cancer-free individuals, researchers discovered 24 species of bacteria and fungi that appeared to alter pancreatic cancer risk — either increasing or decreasing it. Of those, 27 microbes in total were linked to a more than threefold increase in risk.

“It is clearer than ever that brushing and flossing your teeth may not only help prevent periodontal disease but may also protect against cancer,” said co-senior author Dr. Richard Hayes, professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The study proposes a mechanism as unsettling as it is fascinating: harmful oral microbes may travel from the mouth to the pancreas via swallowed saliva. Once there, they may contribute to inflammation or immune dysregulation, potentially creating a microenvironment favorable to cancer growth.

“Our findings provide new insight into the relationship between the oral microbiome and pancreatic cancer,” said lead author Yixuan Meng, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU. “These microbes could be influencing tumor development through systemic inflammation or by altering immune responses in the pancreas.”

Some of the bacteria flagged in the study are already known culprits in gum disease — a chronic infection that damages the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth. Gum disease itself has been previously linked to systemic inflammation and an increased risk of several illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

This new research adds pancreatic cancer to that growing list. The inflammatory markers released by the bacteria involved in periodontal disease may contribute to a “pro-tumor environment,” the study suggests.

Cancer Vaccine Shows Breakthrough Promise in Preventing Recurrence of Disease

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A groundbreaking cancer vaccine has shown encouraging results in preventing deadly recurrences of pancreatic and colorectal tumors, according to new research led in part by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The experimental vaccine, known as ELI-002 2P, was tested in a phase 1 clinical trial involving 25 patients who had recently undergone surgery to remove pancreatic or colorectal tumors. All of the participants showed “minimal residual disease,” meaning small traces of cancer DNA remained—putting them at extremely high risk of relapse.

Pancreatic cancer recurrence rates are notoriously grim, with more than 80% of patients seeing their disease return after surgery—nearly half within the first year. Colorectal cancer recurrence is also high, affecting 30% to 50% of patients, usually within the first two years.

The vaccine targets KRAS mutations, which drive over 90% of pancreatic cancers and about half of colorectal cancers. Delivered through a series of injections designed to trigger an immune response in the lymph nodes, the vaccine worked as intended for most patients:

21 out of 25 patients developed KRAS-specific T cells, showing their immune systems were actively fighting tumor-linked mutations.

Patients with stronger immune responses had significantly longer relapse-free survival compared to those with weaker responses.

For six patients (three pancreatic, three colorectal), the vaccine appeared to completely eliminate all disease biomarkers.

Nearly 20 months after treatment, the majority of patients with the strongest immune responses remained cancer-free.

“This is an exciting advance for patients with KRAS-driven cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, where recurrence after standard treatment is almost a given and effective therapies are limited,” said Dr. Zev Wainberg, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the trial’s lead author.

“We observed that patients who developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained disease-free and survived for much longer than expected.”

Beyond KRAS, the vaccine also sparked responses to additional tumor mutations in 67% of patients, suggesting the therapy could help suppress broader cancer growth.

The findings, published in Nature Medicine, represent a potential turning point in how doctors approach two of the most aggressive and deadly cancers. Larger clinical trials are already being planned to further test the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Cancer Diagnoses Skyrocketed In Recent Years And Officials Are Just Figuring Out Why Now

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Local-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses increased dramatically from 2019 to 2022 in adults between the ages of 45 and 49, and colonoscopy screening also spiked, according to new studies published in August.

A new study led by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) discovered this change following a “stable 15-year trend,” according to an August 4 ACS press release.

The study analyzed colorectal cancer diagnoses from 2004 to 2022 among adults between the ages of 20 and 54 years in the 21 geographic areas of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Cases were organized by age, cancer location, and diagnosis stage. Its incidence rates were adjusted for delays in case reporting and age-standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population, according to the press release.

Rising diagnoses among the 45-49 year cohort between 2019 and 2022 included a 50% relative growth in diagnoses between 2021 and 2022, from 11.7 to 17.5 cases per 100,000. This age range’s regular 1.1% annual increase in diagnoses skyrocketed to 12% per year between 2019 and 2022, largely due to the detection of local-stage tumors. The study found that local-stage tumors for colon cancer increased annually by 18.8% and lby 25.1% for rectal cancer, according to the press release.

The ACS’s study also found that colorectal cancer incidence increased consistently by 1.6% annually since 2004 among adults between 2o and 39-years-old, and by 2-2.6% per year since 2012 among the age cohorts of 40-44 and 50-54. Rates of localized disease for those 20 to 39-years-old remained stable, and rates among those in the age ranges of 40-44 and 50-54 had a slower increase of 2.5-3.1% annually beginning in 2016 to 2017, and were confined to rectal tumors. Advanced-stage colorectal cancer continued growing by 1.7-2.9% per year since 2004 among adults under 45-years-old and even faster in the past decade for those between ages 45 and 54, the press release stated. (Read more from “Cancer Diagnoses Skyrocketed In Recent Years And Officials Are Just Figuring Out Why Now” HERE)

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This Common Ailment Is Linked to Esophageal Cancer, Doctor Warns

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Esophageal cancer is relatively rare, making up only 1% of all cancer diagnoses in the US.

However, it is also one of the most deadly cancers — with a five-year survival rate of only 20%.

Gastroenterologist Dr. Wendi LeBrett recently posted a TikTok video warning everyone of a common ailment that could be unknowingly putting you at risk.

“Acid reflux is the most common cause of esophageal cancer, but one in three people who have acid reflux will have no idea they even have this condition,” she says in the clip.

She goes on to explain that 60% to 70% of people who have acid reflux will have “classic symptoms of heartburn” — that gurgling feeling in your chest that often occurs after a big meal. . .

But, chillingly, LeBrett says 30% to 40% of people have acid reflux without experiencing heartburn — and around half of them will either be asymptomatic or have atypical symptoms. (Read more from “This Common Ailment Is Linked to Esophageal Cancer, Doctor Warns” HERE)

Colon Cancer Patients Are 24 Times More Likely to Die Within 5 Years if They Had This Habit Before Their Diagnosis

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Here’s the bottom line — nearly 53,000 Americans are projected to die from colorectal cancer this year.

The overall five-year survival rate for the disease is around 65%. Several factors significantly influence prognosis, including the stage of the cancer at diagnosis, its location within the colon and the effectiveness of treatment.

A new study suggests that a popular habit may negatively affect colon cancer outcomes, significantly increasing the risk of death within five years of diagnosis.

“This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that heavy cannabis use may have underrecognized impacts on the immune system, mental health and treatment behaviors,” said lead study author Raphael Cuomo, an associate professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

An estimated 17.7 million Americans reported using marijuana daily or nearly every day in 2022, a rise that correlates with the decriminalization and legalization of pot and increased societal acceptance.

About 30% of cannabis users meet the criteria for addiction. (Read more from “Colon Cancer Patients Are 24 Times More Likely to Die Within 5 Years if They Had This Habit Before Their Diagnosis” HERE)

How Much Chicken You’d Have to Eat a Week to Increase Your Risk of Dying by 27% — It’s a Lot Less Than You Think

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. . .Chicken has long been lauded as a healthy alternative to red and processed meats, which have been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and several cancers.

But a new study has found a clucking scary link between chicken consumption, overall mortality, and gastrointestinal cancer — and you don’t have to eat that much to experience negative effects.

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that red meat — such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat — is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” while poultry was left off the table as a risk factor.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines chicken as a “noble food” because it is high in protein and lower in fat than other animal meats. The DGA suggests a standard poultry portion of 100 g and recommends eating it one to three times per week.

However, Italian researchers recently found that people who eat more than 300 grams of chicken per week, or just under four servings, are 27% more likely to die from any cause than those who eat less than 100 grams (a little over one serving). (Read more from “How Much Chicken You’d Have to Eat a Week to Increase Your Risk of Dying by 27% — It’s a Lot Less Than You Think” HERE)

Doctor: For the First Time in My Career, I’ve Seen an 8, 9 and 10-Year Olds With Colon Cancer

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. . .Children—actually very young children—are now being diagnosed with these extremely aggressive, fast-moving cancers at a rate that’s impossible to ignore. But instead of asking hard questions, the same crowd of “experts” that once shouted down anyone who dared question the COVID vaccine has gone radio silent.

The timing really speaks for itself, right? These alarming cases have been ramping up since the rollout of the vaccine. But the people who once told everyone this shot was a miracle are now nowhere to be found as the world faces a medical crisis that feels more like a cover-up than a coincidence.

And now, a top doctor by the name of Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is finally saying what others won’t…

But this latest alarm bell from Dr. Soon-Shiong still centers around the cancer surge—only now, the focus has shifted to children, which makes it all the more terrifying. For the first time in his long and respected career, he says he’s seeing kids—young kids—being diagnosed with some of the most aggressive, deadly cancers on the planet.

What is happening? It seems so obvious, doesn’t it…and as Dr. Soon-Shiong says, we have to “face reality.”

(Read more from “Doctor: For the First Time in My Career, I’ve Seen an 8, 9 and 10-Year Olds With Colon Cancer” HERE)

Popular Over-The-Counter Drug Can Slow the Spread of Breast, Bowel and Prostate Cancers

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Breast cancer rates are on the rise for women under 40 in the US, with recent research showing they have increased by more than 0.5% per year in 21 states.

Additionally, prostate cancer rates have increased by 2% to 3% annually, and colon cancer rates have risen by 1% to 2% per year among individuals younger than 55, data shows.

Now, a new study has identified one popular drug as a potential agent in slowing the progression of certain cancers — including those of the breast, bowel and prostate — and the best part is that it’s available over the counter.

Aspirin can help the immune system fight cancer spread by blocking a chemical (TXA2), made by blood platelets, that would otherwise weaken the body’s T cells, which are important for attacking cancer cells, the study found.

Previous research has indicated that aspirin has the potential to slow the progression of some cancers.

A 2021 analysis that reviewed 13 studies with over 140,000 breast cancer patients found that aspirin use was linked to a 31% reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality and a 9% decrease in recurrence or metastasis risk. (Read more from “Popular Over-The-Counter Drug Can Slow the Spread of Breast, Bowel and Prostate Cancers” HERE)