The CancerWeb Report, What's New In Cancer: August, 1996
Diet and Cancer

• A useful discussion of the status of diet and cancer. - The July 17, 1996 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute contains a useful summary of the status of information on the relation of diet to cancer, and the question of chemoprevention by the use of chemicals or micronutrients such as vitamins. This summary is based on talks given at the recent American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, DC. There has been a shift in emphasis from underlining the negative role of fats and red meat, to stressing the protective effect of dietary fruits and vegetables. Reassessment of the overall contribution of dietary factors to cancer has modified some of the original estimates of 35-90% by Doll and Peto in 1981, but the range is still up to 80% for breast, colon, gall bladder, prostate and uterine cancers, and up to 70% for stomach cancer. Attempts to define the roles of specific nutrients such as vitamins and minerals as dietary additives are hampered by the length of time required for cancer to develop. None of the markers (gene mutations, new proteins, or abnormal chromosomes) that have been suggested as early indicators of potential cancer development have really been proved to be reliable. (J National Cancer Inst 88:947, 1996)