Western diets rich in sugar could increase risk of breast cancer tumors, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study on mice also suggested that such diets could also lead to metastasis in lungs.

The researchers found that fructose, also known as fruit sugar which is commonly found in fruit and processed products, facilitates spread of breast tumors. This is not the first time when sugar has been blamed for a health condition. Previous some studies have linked inflammation and sugar’s relationship to cancer development.

The new study’s researchers analyzed dietary sugar’s impact on mammary gland tumor, said Dr. Lorenzo Cohen from MD Anderson Cancer Center. The professor of palliative, rehabilitation, and integrative medicine said, “We determined that it was specifically fructose, in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, ubiquitous within our food system, which was responsible for facilitating lung metastasis and 12-HETE production in breast tumors”.

The researchers conducted four studies on mice to know more on the case. They assigned the mice to one of four diet groups which had sucrose and fructose in different amounts. After the studies, they noticed that more than 50% mice belonging to sucrose group developed mammary tumors by the time they reached six months old. On the other side, starch-control diet group’s only 30% mice developed the detectable tumors by same time.

The researchers also noted that mice who were give high amount of sucrose or fructose diets developed more lung metastases that the subjects with controlled diet.