Heavy antibiotic use may significantly increase the odds of developing bowel cancer,  a study suggests. Bowel cancer is a type of malignancy that starts in the colon or rectum. Also known as colorectal cancer, the disease is currently the third most common type of cancer in the U.S. 

But experts warn that the early results need further investigation and say people should not stop taking antibiotics.  In this study, researchers looked at data from 16,600 nurses who were taking part in a long-term US trial called the Nurses' Health Study.

They found that nurses who had taken antibiotics for two months or more, between the ages of 20 and 39, were more likely to be diagnosed with particular types of bowel polyps - known as adenomas - in later life, compared wtih people who had not taken long-term antibiotics in their 20s and 30s.

And women who had taken antibiotics for two months or more in their 40s and 50s were even more likely to be diagnosed with an adenoma decades later. But the study does not look at how many polyps went on to become cancerous. BBC.com reports.

A 2016 study published in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences revealed a dose-dependent increase in the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Data on more than 20,000 participants showed that patients who were prescribed antibiotics were more likely to develop colorectal cancer compared with those who did not have such prescription. The study also revealed that cancer risk increased further with every five prescriptions of antibiotics

Source: bbc.com, naturalnews.com