New study links sugary drinks with colorectal cancer in women

A new medical study suggests a link between sugary drinks and cancer in women.

The Washington University School of Medicine conducted a study involving more than 100,000 women over nearly 25 years.

Researchers found that compared with women who drank less than one 8-ounce serving per week of sugar-sweetened beverages, those who drank two or more per day had over twice the risk of developing early-onset colorectal cancer.

"It may be the first step towards understanding is there something preventable in their diet that increases the risk that something that could be avoided in the future," said Dr. Emil Lou, an oncologist at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center.

Rates of colorectal cancer in people under 50 have increased sharply in recent years.

Compared with people born around 1950, those born around 1990 have twice the risk for colon cancer and four times the risk for rectal cancer.