MUC5AC and malignant colon neoplasm: Dietary heme, a metabolite of red meat, could induce the cytotoxicity of colonic contents, which in turn promotes compensatory hyperproliferation and hyperplasia of the epithelium, ultimately leading to an increased risk of colon cancer, while antibiotics such as ampicillin, metronidazole, and neomycin could strengthen the mucus barrier and epithelial integrity by killing mucin-degrading bacteria and sulfur-producing bacteria, thereby preventing heme-dependent cytotoxic micelles from reaching the gut epithelium and ultimately reducing the risk of colon cancer caused by heme.380