India, Nov. 4 -- Dr Ankur Nandan Varshney, senior consultant medical oncologist at Medanta Hospital, Noida, said in an interview with HT Lifestyle published on Nov. 3, 2026, that sugar consumption does not directly cause cancer or make an existing tumour grow faster, while advising moderation during festive sweet indulgence.
Sugar and cancer: what Dr Varshney said
Dr Varshney said cancer cells use glucose, but normal cells throughout the body also use glucose. He said that the fact cancer cells consume glucose does not establish that eating sweets directly causes cancer or accelerates tumour growth.
He described cancer as a complex disease influenced by multiple biological and environmental factors, and said reducing it to a “simple suga...