Constipation and breast cancer now linked

Press, 9 December 1981, Page 25

Constipation and breast cancer now linked

By

OLIVER GILLIE,

“Sunday Times,” London

Doctors in California have obtained startling evidence which suggests that breast cancer may be caused by chronic constipation. Although they are both common conditions, they have not previously been linked. Breast cancer is widely thought to be associated with a diet rich in meat and fat. This new work in the United States suggests how such a diet might actually cause cancer, and some advice is given on how it might be prevented. Dr Nicholas Petrakis and Dr Eileen King, at the University of California. San Francisco, have studied cells in fluid from the nipples of 1481 women attending a breast-screening clinic. One in 10 were found to have abnormal cells, which could lead to cancer. The women were asked about the frequency of their bowel movements. It was found that a quarter of the women who moved their bowels twice a week or even less frequently, had . abnormal cells. Only one in 20 women who moved their bowels at least once a day had abnormal cells. Severity of constipation did not vary with the age of the women. Thus, the results could not be explained by older women being - more prone to breast cancer or being more likely to be constipated. Breast cancer generally begins in the milk ducts, where abnormal cells may be formed. Over a period of years, these cells may develop into a small cancer lump which, later still, may spread around the body. Some of these cells fall away and are found in small droplets of fluid from the breast.

Evidence from other studies suggests that bacteria acting on food in the constipated bowel produce substances which may transform ordinary cells into cancer cells. These substances circulate in the blood and are taken up into the breast fluid where they may cause breast cells to change into cancer cells. Bacteria in the bowel also produce female hormones, especially in women eating a diet rich in meat and fat. These hormones may be reabsorbed, especially if the woman is constipated, and stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Writing in the current issue of “The Lancer," Petrakis and King say: "In the past, many physicians believed that bacterial fermentation in the large bowel led to auto-intoxication through the formation and absorption of toxic waste products. Furthermore, it was thought that this process was causal in many diseases which were likely to result from consumption of a western diet, which contains large amounts of meats and refined carbohydrates.” Petrakis and King also point out that at the turn of the century it was observed' that lumpy breasts and breast disease were associated with what was then called “chronic intestinal stasis” (severe constipation). However, the idea that constipation was harmful and that frequent bowel movements were necessary for health became unfashionable with the rise of "scientific” medicine. In the past few years, doctors have again realised the importance of wholemeal bread, grains, fruit and vegetables, which provide fibre and prevent constipation and many other diseases.