High-fructose corn syrup enhances intestinal tumor growth in mice

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aat8515
• Publication Date: 2019-03-21T23:15:16Z
• Authors: Marcus D. Goncalves; Changyuan Lu; Jordan Tutnauer; Travis E. Hartman; Seo-Kyoung Hwang; Charles J Murphy; Chantal Pauli; Roxanne Morris; Sam Taylor; Kaitlyn Bosch; Sukjin Yang; Yumei Wang; Justin Van Riper; H Carl Lekaye; Jatin Roper; Young Kim; Qiuying Chen; Steven S. Gross; Kyu Y. Rhee; Lewis C. Cantley; Jihye Yun
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 1000 Multidisciplinary; 0303 health sciences; Carcinogenesis; Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein; 610 Medicine & health; Mice, Mutant Strains; Diet; Tumor Burden; 3. Good health; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; 10049 Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology; Intestinal Neoplasms; Animals; Neoplasm Grading; High Fructose Corn Syrup

A sweetener's not-so-sweet effects

Obesity increases an individual's risk of developing many types of cancer, including colorectal cancer. One of the factors driving the rise in obesity rates is thought to be the use of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as a sweetener in soft drinks. Goncalves et al. found that ingestion of HFCS promotes the growth of intestinal cancer even in the absence of obesity in mouse tumor models. An enzyme in tumors (ketohexokinase) converts fructose to fructose-1-phosphate, which alters tumor cell metabolism and leads to enhanced cell growth. Whether a similar process occurs in humans remains to be seen.

Science , this issue p. 1345