Fruits & Veggies Guard Again Lung Cancer- Study

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Fruits, vegetables guard against lung cancer-study

 

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26145530.htm

 

Fruits, vegetables guard against lung cancer-study

27 Sep 2005 19:59:11 GMT

Source: Reuters

 

CHICAGO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A diet rich in fruits and vegetables

appears to provide protection against lung cancer, according to

research published on Tuesday.

 

The agents believed responsible are plant-derived compounds known as

phytoestrogens found in soy products, grains, carrots, spinach,

broccoli and other fruits and vegetables, the report from the

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said.

 

The compounds have been shown to have a protective effect against some

solid tumors but there has been little research focused on dietary

intake and lung cancer, the study added.

 

" Our main findings were that patients with lung cancer tended to

consume lower amounts of phytoestrogens " than healthy people without

the disease, the report said.

 

The apparent benefits were found in both people who never smoked and

those who were still smoking -- but it was less evident in people who

had quit smoking, for reasons that were not clear, the report added.

 

Smokers are 20 to 30 times more likely than non-smokers to contract

lung cancer, one of the deadliest types of cancer, according to U.S.

government figures.

 

The findings were based on a look at 1,674 lung cancer patients and

1,735 matched healthy people with similar backgrounds who were

interviewed from July 1995 through October 2003.

 

IMPORTANCE OF DIET

 

The study was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical

Association, along with an editorial from researchers at

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, who said

doctors need to talk more with their patients about the importance of

diet in preventing cancer.

 

" Patients should be informed that they may further reduce their risk

of developing cancer by adopting a diet rich in fruits and

vegetables, " the editorial said.

 

In a related study published in the same issue researchers at

Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark said heavy smokers --

defined as those who go through more than 15 cigarettes a day -- can

reduce their lung cancer risk by cutting back, although the reduction

is not proportional.

 

" A smoker who cuts back on the number of cigarettes by half reduces

the risk of lung cancer not by half, but by 25 percent. So the risk is

reduced but not just as much as the number of cigarettes, " said Nina

Godtfredsen, chief author of the study.

 

The research involved 11,151 men and 8,563 women, aged 20 to 93, who

attended two consecutive examinations from five to 10 years apart

between 1964 and 1988, with several years of follow-up.

 

" Reducing tobacco consumption from approximately 20 cigarettes per day

to less than 10 was associated with a 27 percent reduction in lung

cancer risk compared with unchanged heavy smoking, " the study said.

 

" Participants who were continued light smokers or who quit smoking ...

reduced their lung cancer risk by 56 percent and 50 percent,

respectively, compared with persistent heavy smokers, " the researchers

added.