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Risk Of Cancer From Long Term Use Of Antibiotics

From treatment through painful surgeries to the birth of an infection, antibiotics seem like an enticing fix. However, we now stand at a point of reconsideration of our ways, as results of a recent study reflect that consistent use of antibiotics at early to mid age poses high chances of benign, abnormal growths in the body potentially leading to cancer.

Risk Of Cancer From Long Term Use Of Antibiotics

From treatment through painful surgeries to the birth of an infection, antibiotics seem like an enticing fix. However, we now stand at a point of reconsideration of our ways, as results of a recent study reflect that consistent use of antibiotics at early to mid age poses high chances of benign, abnormal growths in the body potentially leading to cancer.

Antibiotics essentially affect the gut microbiome, thereby deteriorating diversity of bacteria and leaving the body vulnerable to hostile pathogens - a case common in episodes of bowel cancer. For the purpose of the research, data drawn from the Nurses Health Study in the US studied the history of antibiotic use of women aged 60 and above, with at least one bowel inquiry.

Results indicated that women engaged in consistent use of antibiotics for a period of two months or more in their 20s and 30s had 36% higher chances of being diagnosed with an adenoma, compared to those who reported relatively inconsistent use. On the other hand, in a stand-off between those who refrained from resorting to antibiotics between their 20s-50s and those who consumed them for a period of more than 15 days, the latter stood at 73% higher risk of adenoma diagnosis.

The study being of observational nature does not guarantee any firm conclusions but the results sure serve some food for thought. Nevertheless, there is a plausible biological explanation for the associations found, they suggested. Antibiotics fundamentally alter the gut microbiome, by curbing the diversity and number of bacteria, and reducing resistance to 'hostile' bugs, they say. Previous research points to depletion of certain types of bacteria and an abundance of others in patients with bowel cancer. This might all have a crucial role the development of bowel cancer, added to which the bugs that require antibiotics may induce inflammation, which is a known risk for the development of bowel cancer, say the researchers.

"The findings, if confirmed by other studies, suggest the potential need to limit the use of antibiotics and sources of inflammation that may drive tumour formation," concluded the researchers.
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