Colon cancer patients who eat a lot of red meat, french fries and desserts may raise their chances of suffering a relapse and dying early, researchers said Tuesday.
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that patients who favor such a "Western" diet were three-and-a-half times more likely to have a recurrence of colon cancer than those eating poultry, fish, vegetables and fruits.Previous research has found that certain lifestyle choices and diets play an important role in the risk of developing cancer.
But few studies had measured the role of food in the recurrence of colon cancer and the risk of dying, the researchers say in a study published in the August 15 edition of the Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA).
Doctor Jeffrey Meyerhardt, the study's lead author, and colleagues from the Boston, Massachusetts, institute looked at 1,009 patients suffering from stage III colon cancer, in which the tumor is present in the colon and lymph nodes.
The patients had been treated through surgery and chemotherapy when they took a survey about their eating habits. They were quizzed about their diet again six months later after completion of chemotherapy.
The researchers found two main types of diets: a "Western" diet rich in red meat, fatty products, refined grains and desserts, and a "prudent" model that includes a high intake of fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish.
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By comparison, the "prudent" diet was not significantly associated with cancer recurrence or death, the researchers said.
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Researchers are conducting more analyses to determine which nutrients or food groupings may be linked the closest to increased recurrence risks.
Source-AFP
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