Nutrition and cancer: A review

Summary

The ways in which food and drink can contribute to, or prevent, the development of cancer are reviewed. Strict proof that an element of nutrition is carcinogenic or anticarcinogenic is unobtainable as yet. The problem is to decide when the evidence is strong enough to justify action to modify the diet. The methods by which such evidence can be obtained include retrospective studies of affected patients and controls, prospective studies of groups of individuals of defined dietary status, temporal and geographical correlations between consumption of food and drink and cancer incidence, and laboratory demonstrations that an agent is carcinogenic in animals and that postulated mechanisms operate in man.

Such evidence is considered underthe headings of: alcohol, mycotoxins, overnutrition, fat, meat, vegetables, fiber, intestinal flora, vitamins, trace elements, nitrosamines, natural carcinogens, effects of cooking, and food additives.