Cancer and collagen: a delicate connection
Collagen is a structural protein involved in many physiological functions. It makes up the largest part of the extracellular matrix and forms a scaffold that allows cells to be nourished, to adhere and to differentiate. Recent studies have shown, however, that collagen can be an important link in some of the biochemical and biophysical signalling cascades that influence tissue repair as well as cell division and migration. These cascades also matter a great deal in the formation and development of many kinds of cancer. There is therefore a growing body of research looking at the possible connections between collagen and various cancers.
In what follows we discuss the potential effects of collagen supplements on the formation and development of cancer.
Collagen – the natural structural protein and how your body controls it
There is a great deal of uncertainty around the safety of supplements. To answer whether collagen powder is carcinogenic, we first need to understand the role of collagen in your body and how your body produces it.
Collagen synthesis: a fundamental blueprint of your body
Collagen is the most abundant fibrous protein in the human body. It is produced mainly by specialised cells such as fibroblasts (in connective tissue), osteoblasts (in bone) and chondrocytes (in cartilage).
From gene to protein: how your body makes collagen
As with all proteins, the instructions for collagen synthesis are stored in DNA, in what are known as genes. This genetic information is transcribed into RNA, which is in turn translated into proteins. These proteins are then secreted into the extracellular matrix (ECM) outside the cell, where they carry out their many supporting and communication functions.
Regulating collagen levels: the fragile balance of homeostasis
Your body is a master of self-regulation. It maintains a normal collagen level — known as homeostasis — to keep all your organs functioning optimally.
Synthesis versus breakdown: maintaining homeostasis
This healthy balance is maintained by the constant fine-tuning of synthesis and recycling, meaning natural breakdown. Your body knows exactly when to produce collagen and when to break it down.
External signals and disrupted communication
This fragile balance can be shifted by various signalling molecules — cytokines, hormones such as vitamin D3, or certain viral or tumour markers. While the normal concentration is often restored once the stimulus ends, chronically disrupted communication can lead to serious tissue damage. This loss of control over cell communication also plays a part in the development of cancer, but it is fundamentally different from taking in pure nutrients such as collagen powder.
Collagen and cancer: analysing the tumour microenvironment
To assess the safety of collagen powder we have to look at the complex and often misunderstood role of native collagen and cancer in the body. The connection between collagen and tumour progression is not a one-way street but a reciprocal relationship, in which the tumour tissue actively manipulates the collagen structure.
How tumour cells manipulate the extracellular matrix (ECM)
Numerous studies have examined the profound effects of the up- and down-regulation of collagen on various cancers. The central finding: tumour cells are masters at altering their immediate surroundings — the tumour microenvironment — in order to promote their growth and their spread.
Tumour cells drive the up-regulation of collagen (fibrosis)
Tumour cells can drastically increase collagen production in their immediate surroundings. This up-regulation of collagen leads to a stiffening of the surrounding tissue, a form of fibrosis.
✅ Mechanism: this increased stiffness makes it easier for tumour cells to invade and migrate (Hsu et al., 2022). The remodelling of the ECM disrupts normal tissue cohesion, which in turn disturbs the morphology and migration of healthy cells.
✅ A concrete example: in breast cancer, studies have shown that the collagen in the breast becomes progressively thicker, more linear and more rigid during tumour invasion, which promotes cell migration and therefore metastasis. This up-regulation is regarded as a risk factor for the progression of the disease (Fang et al., 2014).
Tumour cells drive the down-regulation of collagen
Unexpectedly, tumour cells can also cause collagen levels to fall. They achieve this above all through the aggressive activation of matrix-degrading enzymes such as the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).
✅ Effect: by reducing collagen density, tumour cells weaken the physical barrier of the tissue.
✅ Consequence: this breakdown of collagen makes tumour progression easier and promotes angiogenesis — the formation of new blood vessels, a key process that tumour cells urgently need for their supply and for metastasis.
The decisive distinction – collagen powder and native collagen in tissue
We have seen that manipulating the level of collagen in tissue is a mechanism tumour cells use to promote their spread. The question now is this: how does taking collagen powder differ from that dangerous cellular manipulation?
Why homeostasis matters: the role of native collagen
The scientific findings show clearly that both raising and lowering the level of native collagen in tissue is an important mechanism, one that activates signalling pathways promoting tumour invasion and metastasis.
Restoring normal collagen expression
In vitro studies have shown that restoring normal collagen expression — that is, attempting to re-establish natural homeostasis — can inhibit the progression of tumour factors. This underlines how fundamental tissue organisation and balance are to maintaining normal cell function. The disruption of homeostasis by the tumour is the problem, not collagen itself.
The data: what has been examined for collagen supplementation
The studies on collagen supplementation published so far have not recorded any carcinogenic potential, although the body of data is limited. Native collagen in tissue and orally taken collagen peptides differ in form and in bioavailability.
The transformation in the digestive tract: from peptide to building block
Supplements are mainly taken orally. The decisive point is this: during digestion, collagen is broken down by enzymes such as proteases into more easily digestible amino acids and peptides, which are short chains. The collagen you take in therefore does not reach the tumour microenvironment as a large, intact collagen fibre.
Collagen powder as a pure nutritional building block
Your body uses the released amino acids and peptides as building blocks for every process, from muscle repair to enzyme production. Taking collagen powder is therefore first of all an intake of amino acids. They enter the body's general amino acid pool and are not directed to any particular tissue.
In closing
Collagen is an important structural protein of connective tissue, and its regulation in the tumour microenvironment can influence the progression of cancer. An increased collagen content in the extracellular matrix can indeed promote tumour growth, by creating favourable conditions for cancer cells so that they spread more easily. Some studies suggest that the increased stiffness caused by an excess of collagen can activate cancer-promoting signalling pathways. Where the same tissue collagen forms a dense physical barrier, it has also been described as slowing the spread of cancer cells. All of this concerns native collagen in the extracellular matrix, not collagen eaten as a food. The relationship between collagen and the development of cancer is therefore complex and multifactorial.
Research into the effects of taking collagen on cancer is still limited, and the precise mechanisms underlying these processes are not yet known. Taking collagen orally does, however, appear to be safe, and no study has shown major side effects from collagen-based supplements. In two randomised clinical trials examining the effects of collagen supplementation on skin health and skin ageing, no side effects occurred among the 372 patients who took part in them.
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Image credits: National Cancer Institute, Ash Hayes auf Unsplash