- Stress and working at night are both known to affect cancer risk, including colorectal cancer risk.
- Colorectal cancer risk and progression have both been linked to the microbiome, dysregulation of which has been linked to stress and disruption of the circadian rhythm.
- Recent research in mice has linked stress and a disrupted circadian cycle to disruption of the gut microbiome, and suggested that this may contribute to colorectal cancer progression due to its impact on intestinal permeability and inflammation.
The impact of circadian rhythm and stress on the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer progression are the focus of recent research.
Researchers have found that colorectal cancer is exacerbated by disruption to the circadian rhythm, which contributes to changes in the gut microbiome that can increase intestinal permeability, which in turn increases inflammation, which can lead to the progression of colorectal cancer.
These were the findings of a study in mouse models of colorectal cancer, which appeared in Science Advances in September 2024.
Stress can also impact the microbiome, having an impact on colorectal cancer progression in mice, findings presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2024 — held in Vienna, Austria — which are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed.
Both of these studies used mouse models that had been genetically modified to mimic certain conditions, including tendency towards forming tumours or circadian disruption.
The stress of sleep disruption and impact on the circadian cycle could both have significant impacts on various homeostatic processes, Shuji Ogino, MD, PhD, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Medical News Today.
Ogino, who was not involved in either of these studies, said he viewed “night shift work being accepted as a carcinogen,” and pointed to hormonal disturbances and interference with anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory…
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