Study: Diet soda may stop cancer recurrence

NEW HAVEN — Those treated for colon cancer may have a better chance of not having the cancer recur if they drink artificially sweetened drinks, according to a Yale Cancer Center study released Thursday.

The research follows similar findings that showed drinking coffee and eating tree nuts may have a protective effect, according to Dr. Charles Fuchs, director of the Yale Cancer Center.

A little less than half of the effect “can easily be ascribed” to patients substituting artificially sweetened drinks for sugary drinks, such as colas, Fuchs said, adding “we can’t exclude some genuine benefit to these artificially sweetened beverages.” He added, “I don’t know of any scientific evidence that any artificially sweetened beverages benefit cancer patients.”

Research was done on patients treated for stage 3 colon cancer who were in a National Cancer Institute clinical trial testing two forms of chemotherapy.

The scientists looked at 1,018 patients and found those who drank at least one 12-ounce, artificially sweetened drink per day had a 46 percent better chance their cancer would not recur or they would die from colon cancer, compared with those who didn’t drink sugar-free drinks. The beverages included colas and sugar-free beverages, according to a news release.

The study was published Thursday in the journal PLOS ONE.