Association of Sugar Intake with Inflammation- and Angiogenesis-Related Biomarkers in Newly Diagnosed Colorectal Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests a positive association between sugar intake and colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes. We sought to investigate inflammation and angiogenesis as underlying mechanisms behind increased sugar intake and worse CRC outcomes. METHOD: Pre-surgery serum samples were obtained from 191 patients diagnosed with primary invasive stage I-IV CRC. Biomarkers of inflammation (CRP, SAA, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNFα) and angiogenesis (VEGFA, VEGFD, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1) were analyzed (Meso-Scale-Discovery). Fructose, glucose, sucrose, and total sugar intake (calories/day, % total calories) were assessed by FFQ. Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Patients were on average 64 years old, 64% were male, the majority was diagnosed with stage II-III (58%) cancers, and 67% were either overweight or obese. Among normalweight individuals (BMI