By Jessica Green For Mailonline and Victoria Allen Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
Published: 01:58 GMT, 22 March 2019 | Updated: 01:59 GMT, 22 March 2019
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Sugar could be fuelling cancer by speeding up the growth of tumours in the body, according to a new study.
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, found that mice consuming high-fructose corn syrup, used in biscuits, ice cream and energy drinks, saw intestinal tumours grow faster.
The amount was said to be the equivalent of people drinking about 12 ounces of a sugary drink a day.
Sugar could be fuelling cancer by speeding up the growth of tumours in the body, according to a new study
Dr Lewis Cantley, a co-author of the study from Weill Cornell Medicine, said: 'This observation in animal models might explain why increased consumption of sweet drinks and other foods with high sugar content over the past 30 years is correlating with an increase in colorectal cancers in 25 to 50-year-olds in the United States.'
An understanding of how sugar feeds cancer may also lead to a new approach to treatment, the study's scientists suggested.
However, some experts have warned that the mechanism had been demonstrated in mice genetically engineered to be prone to cancer, and may not translate into humans.
