5 ms·

Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

38 points by _xerces_ 1y ago

_xerces_ 1y ago
It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-search/v?id=NCI-2024-02154 https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-... The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.
- piuantiderp 1y ago
  Not all gut bacteria cause this, but the bad ones sure, will break sulfur-aminos into badness.
- washadjeffmad 1y ago
  There was a pop-sci article around a decade ago, still within the "fight free radicals by buying our anti-oxidant products" craze, that posited that breathing flatulence could also help fight cancer because hydrogen sulfide damaged cancer cells. I didn't think it passed the smell then, either. Found it: https://www.cnet.com/science/how-smelling-farts-could-save-your-life/ https://www.cnet.com/science/how-smelling-farts-could-save-y...
- Qem 1y ago
  Most sulfides are insoluble. I wonder if ingestion with calcium/magnesium/iron rich foods may mitigate the risk, by precipitating the sulfide formed, instead of letting it stay as fast diffusing H2S.
- j45 1y ago
  It also raises a question for me could Taurine in an energy drink be different than taurine as a supplement?
- ivewonyoung 1y ago
  > hydrogen sulfide Interesting because NAC also has been studied to possibly accelerate cancer growth if you already have it, but it helps with prevention if you don't have it. And it has sulfur and also produces hydrogen sulfide in the body.
Legend2440 1y ago
>The research team discovered that leukaemia cells feed on taurine through a process called glycolysis, in which cells break down sugar to produce energy. >This process helps cancer cells multiply more rapidly, worsening the disease. If I’m reading this right, it doesn’t cause cancer, but if you already have cancer it may make it spread faster.
- ramoz 1y ago
  For leukaemia. Another study is investigating the development of colon cancer.
  - Legend2440 1y ago
    And that study isn’t done yet. So we don’t know if it’s linked to colon cancer or not. 2/10 headline at best.
- GauntletWizard 1y ago
  But these cancers are naturally occurring, happen all the time, and are usually caught by the immune system before they become large and problematic. Adding a bunch of fuel means it's far far more likely that they are growing too big too fast. It may or may not cause cancer, but it causes cancer to be a problem more often.
- Qem 1y ago
  IIRC folate also share this property. It helps where tissues have fast growth or replenishment rates (infants still developing in utero, lifelong hair growth, digestive system lining, skin, et cetera), but as a side effect, when cancer happens, it supercharges tumors. Situations like this are probably one contributor for life extension being a difficult problem. When you try to apply a given fix you end increasing the risk of something else in the body breaking.
- hackernewds 1y ago
  The outcome is the same.
dynm 1y ago
From the title, I read this expecting another lame observational study which I would probably distrust on the basis that it doesn't show anything causal. It's not that! Rather, if I understand it, they (1) took mice and introduced leukemia cells and (2) took human leukemia cell lines. In both cases, they found biomarkers related to leukemia growth. (I welcome corrections to that understanding from experts!) Personally, this seems far from convincing evidence that taurine in energy drinks is actually causing cancer. But it is suggestive and it seems like one might reasonably avoid taurine out of an "abundance of caution".
- klipt 1y ago
  But does it show taurine is specifically worse than other amino acids? Otherwise it's just showing that cancer can feed on protein which is ... unsurprising? Might as well say "tofu causes cancer" or "meat causes cancer" or "milk causes cancer"
  - narrator 1y ago
    The inverse of this study, in which a nutrient that helps cells grow, including cancer cells, is the cause of cancer is that every substance they find that kills cells, but is slightly more likely to kill cancer cells than regular cells is suddenly the cure for cancer.
  - BobbyJo 1y ago
    "Aiding protein synthesis causes cancer"
- jeffbee 1y ago
  The paper (an extremely difficult one to comprehend, reminding us how complex this field of research has become) only glancingly mentions energy drinks because apparently they are sometimes used to offset the effects of chemotherapy. That is, the context in which they are mentioned is people who already have leukemia. The entire rest of the paper is about how taurine produced by the body's own cells contributes to the advancement of the established disease.
- haffi112 1y ago
monster_truck 1y ago
I am once again begging hn for an "in mice" rule when posting studies
fabian2k 1y ago
I wouldn't draw any medical conclusions from that paper, it's really not looking at anything like that. And the title of this article does not represent the paper at all. They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the title. If I understand the paper right, "the cells feed on taurine" is also just wrong. What they see is that taurine plays a role in regulating glycolysis in those leukemia cells. And of course glycolysis uses glucose as indicated by its name, and taurine looks nothing like glucose.
- mmooss 1y ago
  The researchers themselves seem to disagree with your comment: Researchers from the University of Rochester warned consumers to be cautious, especially as taurine is commonly used in energy drinks and dietary supplements. ... "The study states, “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks... our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the risks and benefits of supplemental taurine in leukaemia patients,”.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - nativeit 1y ago
    Your quote suggests that ingesting supplemental taurine may/may not increase risks specifically for leukemia patients. The headline asserts outright that the taurine content of energy drinks is a causal factor in colorectal cancers. I fail to see how that contradicts the comment to which you were replying, and I agree that the headline doesn’t seem to follow from the text.
    - mmooss 1y ago
      > The headline asserts outright that the taurine content of energy drinks is a causal factor in colorectal cancers. ? The headline says, "Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer". 'Linked' doesn't mean 'causes', and that's especially true in any science news or any other journalism. 'Jones linked to Chase robbery' doesn't mean they robbed the bank, but that they somehow had a connection to someone.
BenFranklin100 1y ago
Important point: The biomedical research that made this sort of study possible where it wasn’t before is under attack by RFK and DOGE. The study used scRNA-seq, CRISPR, and leukemia enriched stem cells to help identify a potential causal pathway. All these technologies were developed with NIH funding. The detailed, quantifiable research shown in this study relied on these technologies and is superior to epidemiology studies that would only show a vague association between energy drink consumption and higher cancer rates. Trump/RFK has proposed slashing the NIH budget by 40%. Further, DOGE and Trump political appointees are deeply embedded within the NIH and are preventing research grants Notice of Award (NoAs) from going out. This will have disastrous consequences for biomedical research.
- nsxwolf 1y ago
  So we're going to have fewer sky is falling junk studies to hear about?
  - BenFranklin100 1y ago
    Absolutely. These sorts of studies provide testable mechanistic models rather than epidemiological studies than only provide qualitative associations.
ck2 1y ago
Don't completely discard the danger but keep in mind ANY supplement that improves cell efficiency also helps cancer, with very rare exception. 1000x times more worried about micro-plastics and forever-chemicals now saturating every water source on the planet, that cannot possibly end well for cancer rates and other diseases.
- klipt 1y ago
  Yeah PFAS are our generation's equivalent of the lead water pipes Romans used

38 points by _xerces_ 1y ago

It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-search/v?id=NCI-2024-02154 https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-... The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.

piuantiderp 1y ago
Not all gut bacteria cause this, but the bad ones sure, will break sulfur-aminos into badness.
washadjeffmad 1y ago
There was a pop-sci article around a decade ago, still within the "fight free radicals by buying our anti-oxidant products" craze, that posited that breathing flatulence could also help fight cancer because hydrogen sulfide damaged cancer cells. I didn't think it passed the smell then, either. Found it: https://www.cnet.com/science/how-smelling-farts-could-save-your-life/ https://www.cnet.com/science/how-smelling-farts-could-save-y...
Qem 1y ago
Most sulfides are insoluble. I wonder if ingestion with calcium/magnesium/iron rich foods may mitigate the risk, by precipitating the sulfide formed, instead of letting it stay as fast diffusing H2S.
j45 1y ago
It also raises a question for me could Taurine in an energy drink be different than taurine as a supplement?
ivewonyoung 1y ago
> hydrogen sulfide Interesting because NAC also has been studied to possibly accelerate cancer growth if you already have it, but it helps with prevention if you don't have it. And it has sulfur and also produces hydrogen sulfide in the body.

Legend2440 1y ago

>The research team discovered that leukaemia cells feed on taurine through a process called glycolysis, in which cells break down sugar to produce energy. >This process helps cancer cells multiply more rapidly, worsening the disease. If I’m reading this right, it doesn’t cause cancer, but if you already have cancer it may make it spread faster.

ramoz 1y ago
For leukaemia. Another study is investigating the development of colon cancer.
- Legend2440 1y ago
  And that study isn’t done yet. So we don’t know if it’s linked to colon cancer or not. 2/10 headline at best.
GauntletWizard 1y ago
But these cancers are naturally occurring, happen all the time, and are usually caught by the immune system before they become large and problematic. Adding a bunch of fuel means it's far far more likely that they are growing too big too fast. It may or may not cause cancer, but it causes cancer to be a problem more often.
Qem 1y ago
IIRC folate also share this property. It helps where tissues have fast growth or replenishment rates (infants still developing in utero, lifelong hair growth, digestive system lining, skin, et cetera), but as a side effect, when cancer happens, it supercharges tumors. Situations like this are probably one contributor for life extension being a difficult problem. When you try to apply a given fix you end increasing the risk of something else in the body breaking.
hackernewds 1y ago
The outcome is the same.

dynm 1y ago

From the title, I read this expecting another lame observational study which I would probably distrust on the basis that it doesn't show anything causal. It's not that! Rather, if I understand it, they (1) took mice and introduced leukemia cells and (2) took human leukemia cell lines. In both cases, they found biomarkers related to leukemia growth. (I welcome corrections to that understanding from experts!) Personally, this seems far from convincing evidence that taurine in energy drinks is actually causing cancer. But it is suggestive and it seems like one might reasonably avoid taurine out of an "abundance of caution".

klipt 1y ago
But does it show taurine is specifically worse than other amino acids? Otherwise it's just showing that cancer can feed on protein which is ... unsurprising? Might as well say "tofu causes cancer" or "meat causes cancer" or "milk causes cancer"
- narrator 1y ago
  The inverse of this study, in which a nutrient that helps cells grow, including cancer cells, is the cause of cancer is that every substance they find that kills cells, but is slightly more likely to kill cancer cells than regular cells is suddenly the cure for cancer.
- BobbyJo 1y ago
  "Aiding protein synthesis causes cancer"
jeffbee 1y ago
The paper (an extremely difficult one to comprehend, reminding us how complex this field of research has become) only glancingly mentions energy drinks because apparently they are sometimes used to offset the effects of chemotherapy. That is, the context in which they are mentioned is people who already have leukemia. The entire rest of the paper is about how taurine produced by the body's own cells contributes to the advancement of the established disease.
haffi112 1y ago

monster_truck 1y ago

I am once again begging hn for an "in mice" rule when posting studies

fabian2k 1y ago

I wouldn't draw any medical conclusions from that paper, it's really not looking at anything like that. And the title of this article does not represent the paper at all. They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the title. If I understand the paper right, "the cells feed on taurine" is also just wrong. What they see is that taurine plays a role in regulating glycolysis in those leukemia cells. And of course glycolysis uses glucose as indicated by its name, and taurine looks nothing like glucose.

mmooss 1y ago
The researchers themselves seem to disagree with your comment: Researchers from the University of Rochester warned consumers to be cautious, especially as taurine is commonly used in energy drinks and dietary supplements. ... "The study states, “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks... our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the risks and benefits of supplemental taurine in leukaemia patients,”.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- nativeit 1y ago
  Your quote suggests that ingesting supplemental taurine may/may not increase risks specifically for leukemia patients. The headline asserts outright that the taurine content of energy drinks is a causal factor in colorectal cancers. I fail to see how that contradicts the comment to which you were replying, and I agree that the headline doesn’t seem to follow from the text.
  - mmooss 1y ago
    > The headline asserts outright that the taurine content of energy drinks is a causal factor in colorectal cancers. ? The headline says, "Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer". 'Linked' doesn't mean 'causes', and that's especially true in any science news or any other journalism. 'Jones linked to Chase robbery' doesn't mean they robbed the bank, but that they somehow had a connection to someone.

BenFranklin100 1y ago

Important point: The biomedical research that made this sort of study possible where it wasn’t before is under attack by RFK and DOGE. The study used scRNA-seq, CRISPR, and leukemia enriched stem cells to help identify a potential causal pathway. All these technologies were developed with NIH funding. The detailed, quantifiable research shown in this study relied on these technologies and is superior to epidemiology studies that would only show a vague association between energy drink consumption and higher cancer rates. Trump/RFK has proposed slashing the NIH budget by 40%. Further, DOGE and Trump political appointees are deeply embedded within the NIH and are preventing research grants Notice of Award (NoAs) from going out. This will have disastrous consequences for biomedical research.

nsxwolf 1y ago
So we're going to have fewer sky is falling junk studies to hear about?
- BenFranklin100 1y ago
  Absolutely. These sorts of studies provide testable mechanistic models rather than epidemiological studies than only provide qualitative associations.

ck2 1y ago

Don't completely discard the danger but keep in mind ANY supplement that improves cell efficiency also helps cancer, with very rare exception. 1000x times more worried about micro-plastics and forever-chemicals now saturating every water source on the planet, that cannot possibly end well for cancer rates and other diseases.

klipt 1y ago
Yeah PFAS are our generation's equivalent of the lead water pipes Romans used