How ultra-processed foods can lead to colon cancer risk

By: Cassidy Delamarter, The university’s communication and marketing

Colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, may be driven by the food on our plates. Researchers at USF Health and the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute have uncovered a potential link between the Western diet—dominated by ultra-processed foods and unhealthy oils—and the chronic inflammation that drives tumor growth.

The researchers, recently funded by the National Institutes of Health with a five-year,
$3.1 million granthave already made great strides in understanding colon cancer.
Published in Guta leading international journal of gastroenterology and hepatology, the project’s first study examines how processed foods likely hinder the body’s natural healing processes.

“It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies,” said Dr. Timothy Yeatmanprofessor of surgery in USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and associate center director for Translational Research and Innovation at TGH Cancer Institute. “We’re now seeing this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal – if your body feeds on daily ultra-processed foods, its ability to heal that wound decreases because of the inflammation and suppression of the immune system , ultimately allowing the cancer to grow.”

According to Yeatman, this study underscores the urgent need to reevaluate the components of the Western diet, which typically consists of excessive consumption of added sugar, saturated fat, ultra-processed foods, chemicals and inflammatory seed oils. IN previous studiesThe USF Health Heart Institute found that an unbalanced diet not only affects colon cancer, but also plays a role in other diseases, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.

“Our bodies are designed to actively resolve inflammation through bioactive lipid compounds derived from the healthy fats, like avocados, that we consume,” said Ganesh Haladelecturer in USF Health Heart Institute in the Morsani College of Medicine and a member of the Cancer Biology Program at the TGH Cancer Institute. “Bioactive lipids are very small molecules that come from the foods we eat, and if the molecules come from processed foods, they directly interfere with the immune system and drive chronic inflammation.”

While the molecules are difficult to detect, Halade used a highly sensitive analytical technique to detect trace amounts of lipids in 162 tumor samples from patients at Tampa General Hospital. The tumors were frozen within 30 minutes of removal and transported to his laboratory via USF and TGH Cancer Institute Biobankin collaboration with USF Health Colorectal Surgery and the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the TGH Cancer Institute.

Inside the tumors, the team observed an excess of molecules that promote inflammation and a shortage of those that help resolve it and promote healing. These findings pave the way for a new, natural approach, resolution medicine, which focuses on rebalancing the patient’s diet to treat colorectal cancer more effectively.

“A person’s immune system can be extremely powerful and drastically affect the tumor microenvironment, which is amazing if properly harnessed for health and wellness,” Yeatman said. “But not if it’s suppressed by inflammatory lipids from processed foods.”

Resolution medicine would focus on reversing inflammation using healthy, unprocessed foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil derivatives called “specialized pro-resolving mediators,” to restore the body’s healing mechanisms along with balanced sleep and exercise.

“This has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment and moves beyond medicine to harness natural healing processes,” Yeatman said. “It’s an important step toward managing chronic inflammation and preventing diseases before they start.”

Early trials of specialized derivatives of fish oil have shown promise in addressing inflammation at its root cause. Trials are underway at the TGH Cancer Institute, and the team will continue to study dissolution medicine and its impact on patient care and disease prevention.

This research was conducted in collaboration with national and international partners at the Moffitt Cancer Center, Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Merck Research Laboratories in Boston, Florida Digestive Health Specialists in Bradenton, and Hokkaido University in Japan.