Approximately 200 studies that examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, esophagus, oral cavity, stomach, bladder, pancreas, and ovary are reviewed. A statistically significant protective effect of fruit and vegetable consumption was found in 128 of 156 dietary studies in which results were expressed in terms of relative risk. For most cancer sites, persons with low fruit and vegetable intake (at least the lower one-fourth of the population) experience about twice the risk of cancer compared with those with high intake, even after control for potentially confounding factors. For lung cancer, significant protection was found in 24 of 25 studies after control for smoking in most instances. Fruits, in particular, were significantly protective in cancers of the esophagus, oral cavity, and larynx, for which 28 of 29 studies were significant. Strong evidence of a protective effect of fruit and vegetable consumption was seen in cancers of the pancreas and stomach (26 of 30 studies), as well as in colorectal and bladder cancers (23 of 38 studies). For cancers of the cervix, ovary, and endometrium, a significant protective effect was shown in 11 of 13 studies, and for breast cancer a protective effect was found to be strong and consistent in a meta analysis. It would appear that major public health benefits could be achieved by substantially increasing consumption of these foods.

Fruit, vegetables, and cancer prevention: A review of the epidemiological evidence

▪Purpose:To critically review the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for asymptomatic postmenopausal women who are considering long-term hormone therapy to prevent disease or to prolong...

Hormone Therapy To Prevent Disease and Prolong Life in Postmenopausal Women

It has been estimated by various authorities that about one-third of cancers in Western high-income societies are attributable to factors relating to food, nutrition and physical activity. Identifying with confidence specific associations between dietary patterns, foods, body composition or individual nutrients is not simple because of the long latent period for cancer development, its complex pathogenesis and the challenge of characterising the multidimensional aspects of diet and activity over a lifetime. Reliable conclusions must therefore be drawn not only from randomised controlled trials but from a variety of methodological approaches, judged within a classic framework for inferring causality. Using a newly-developed method with a protocol for standardising the literature search and for analysis and display of the evidence, nine independent academic centres have conducted systematic reviews addressing the causal associations between food, nutrition and physical activity and risk of development of seventeen cancers, as well as of weight gain and obesity. A review has also examined the efficacy of such interventions in subjects with cancer. The reviews have been assessed by an independent Panel of twenty-one international experts who drew conclusions with grades of confidence in the causality of associations and made recommendations. Recommendations are given as public health goals as well as for individuals.

/pdf/the-second-world-cancer-research-fund-american-institute-for-4wjy2ptzze.pdf

The second World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research expert report. Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective.

Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand: Including recommended dietary intakes

It is unequivocal that prolactin is an influential hormone in murine mammary tumorigenesis The Berenblum hypothesis (7), a well-known theoretical model of tumorigenesis that depicts this oncogenic process as a two-step mechanism, ie, initiation and promotion, is a conceptual scheme in which the action of prolactin in mammary tumorigenesis may be understood According to this conceptual model, prolactin would participate in both the initiation and promotion steps of mammary tumorigenesis, In the initiation phase, variations in prolactin secretion appear to influence the metabolism of the mammary epithelium, so that the epithelium would be either more receptive to or refractory to an initiating agent (eg, chemical carcinogen, physical carcinogens, oncogenic viruses, ets) ie, a permissive action In the promotion phase, prolactin may act as either a promoter or an antipromoter of the "transformed" mammary epithelium In promotion, the hormone may either directly or indirectly (via the ovary) stimulate mitotic activity of the "transformed" epithelium In antipromotion the hormone, in the presence of requisite hormones (eg, glucocorticoids), may synergistically induce differentiation (eg, lactation) in the "transformed" epithelium A tumor would result in the former (promotion) but not in the latter (antipromotion) case Whether or not prolactin is significantly influential in human breast tumorigenesis remains to be determined This is an extremely important area of research which is justifiably receiving increased attention For if prolactin can be shown to influence human breast epithelium in a manner similar to its effect on rodent mammary tissue, then prophylactic and/of chemotherapeutic control of human breast tumorigenesis may be feasible by appropriate drug-mediated prolactin suppression

https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/37/4/951.full.pdf

Prolactin and Murine Mammary Tumorigenesis: A Review

A case-control study has been conducted in four areas in Canada in which 400 cases of breast cancer matched by age and marital status with neighborhood controls were administered a medical and dietary history questionnaire, a 24-hour recall for dietary information and a four-day diet record. The Study has produced evidence of an association between an increased intake of nutrients, especially total fat, in both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women with breast cancer. Reasons why a weak association might have been anticipated are discussed, and it is concluded that in reality the association is stronger. Furthermore, its consistency with other evidence, both experimental and international, suggests that it is causal.

A study of diet and breast cancer.

A case-control study has been conducted in four areas of Canada in which 400 cases of breast cancer matched by age and marital status with neighborhood controls were administered medical and dietary questionnaires. The study is suggestive of an increased risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women with younger age at menarche and an increased risk with delay of age at natural menopause. No protective effect of early age at first pregnancy was demonstrated in either pre- or post-menopausal women. An increased frequency of pregnancies of four months duration or less was found in cases compared to controls and a greater frequency in pre-menopausal cases compared to controls of a history of irregular menstrual periods. In pre-menopausal women no association has been found between increased height and weight as risk factors for breast cancer. For post-menopausal women, however, a weak association with increased height has been found, while a strong association with increased weight both at the time of menopause and the 12 months preceding diagnosis has ben confirmed.

J. Feather

Papers

A study of diet and breast cancer.

An epidemiologic study of breast cancer