Integrative oncology in colorectal cancer: evidence-based strategies from prevention through survivorship
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading global malignancy, with approximately 1.9 million new cases and over 900,000 deaths recorded in 2022, yet evidence-based integrative oncology strategies remain inconsistently incorporated into routine care. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence across the full CRC care continuum, from primary prevention through long-term survivorship. High-fiber diets, Mediterranean dietary patterns, calcium supplementation, regular physical activity, healthy weight maintenance, and berberine each demonstrate reproducible CRC risk reduction in large prospective cohorts and multicenter randomized controlled trials. The CHALLENGE trial (NEJM 2025) provides the first randomized phase 3 evidence that structured exercise after adjuvant chemotherapy reduces disease recurrence (HR 0.72) and death (HR 0.63) in colon cancer. Aspirin chemoprevention requires individualized risk-benefit assessment per 2022 US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines; preliminary CaPP3 trial data (conference presentation, June 2025; not yet peer-reviewed) suggest non-inferiority of low-dose aspirin (75-100 mg/day) to 600 mg/day in Lynch syndrome, pending formal publication. Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal carcinogenesis through five mechanistically distinct pathways: FadA-mediated Wnt/β-catenin activation, Fap2- and CbpF-mediated immune evasion via TIGIT and CEACAM1, succinate-HIF-1α-EZH2-mediated immune suppression, Hippo pathway-mediated suppression of…
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