Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34467395›Full record

ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2022

Antibiotics Use and Subsequent Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Swedish Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Sai San Moon Lu, Zahraa Mohammed, Christel Häggström, Robin Myte, Elisabeth Lindquist, Åsa Gylfe, Bethany Van Guelpen, Sophia Harlid

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Squalene Epoxidase: Its Regulations and Links with Cancers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Antibiotics use and risk of colorectal neoplasia: An updated meta-analysis.International journal of colorectal disease · 2022
    Pooled it
  4. Review
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  6. Harnessing the microbiome for cancer therapy.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026
    Review
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  10. Association between Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Use and Risk of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sai San Moon LuDepartment of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2517-6881
Zahraa MohammedDepartment of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Christel HäggströmDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Robin MyteDepartment of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-2974-2003
Elisabeth LindquistDepartment of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Åsa GylfeDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Bethany Van GuelpenDepartment of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-9692-101X
Sophia HarlidDepartment of Radiation Sciences, Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-8540-6891
Umeå University · SEUppsala University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAntibiotics use may increase colorectal cancer (CRC) risk by altering the gut microbiota, with suggestive evidence reported. Our study aims to investigate antibiotics use in relation to subsequent CRC risk.

methodsThis is a nationwide, population-based study with a matched case-control design (first primary CRC cases and 5 matched, cancer-free controls). Complete-population data, extracted from Swedish national registers for the period 2005-2016, were used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

resultsWe included 40 545 CRC cases and 202 720 controls. Using the full dataset, we found a positive association between more frequent antibiotics use and CRC, excluding antibiotics prescribed within 2 years of diagnosis attenuated results toward the null. In site-specific analyses, excluding the 2-year washout, the positive association was confined to the proximal colon (adjusted odds ratio for very high use vs no use = 1.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.05 to 1.31). For rectal cancer, an inverse association, which appears to be driven by women, was observed. Quinolones and sulfonamides and/or trimethoprims were positively associated with proximal colon cancer, whereas a more general inverse association, across antibiotics classes, was observed for rectal cancer. We found no association between methenamine hippurate, a urinary tract antiseptic not affecting the gut microbiota, and CRC risk.

conclusionsThis register-based study covering the entire population of Sweden found a robust association between antibiotics use and higher risk of proximal colon cancer and an inverse association with rectal cancer in women. This study strengthens the evidence from previous investigations and adds important insight into site-specific colorectal carcinogenesis.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsColorectal NeoplasmsCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansRisk FactorsSwedenAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID34467395
PMCPMC8755503
OpenAlexW3197431553

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.