Docs serve up diet surprise: Fat may help, soy may not stop cancer

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/healthNews/edgeHealth.bg?articleid=75

Docs serve up diet surprise: Fat may help, soy may not stop cancer

By Michael Lasalandra

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Studies presented yesterday on the link between diet and cancer
offered some unconventional ideas, suggesting high-fat diets may help
prevent prostate cancer progression and diets high in soy neither
increase nor reduce the risk of breast cancer.
 
"A diet with fewer carbohydrates may be more effective in preventing
progression to advanced, lethal prostate cancer than a diet with low
fat content," said Dr. Ada Elgavish of the University of Alabama.
 
Her study in mice found those that ate diets high in fat and low in
carbohydrates had significantly lower rates of advanced prostate
cancer and sharply higher survival rates than those fed low-fat,
high-carbohydrate diets.
 
But experts at the American Association for Cancer Research conference
in Phoenix cautioned against anyone changing their diets based on the
results of a small study in mice.
 
A few studies in men with early stage prostate cancer have shown a
low-fat diet can stall the disease's progression and even reverse it.
 
A second study presented yesterday suggested diets high in fruits and
vegetables can significantly lower breast cancer risk, but found high
soy intake had no association, either positive or negative.
 
The study on 378 women was conducted in China and was led by
researchers at Oregon Health and Science University.
 
Women who consumed at least four servings of fruits and vegetables per
day had a 50 percent lower risk, and those who ate the most fruit
lowered their risk by 70 percent, said Jackelin Shannon, lead author.
 
But the lack of an association with high soy intake was the most
intriguing finding, she said.
 
Dr. John Potter of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said the
data on soy intake has been inconsistent. He said a study he did
showed a reduced risk of breast cancer among those who started eating
soy in childhood.
 
"In general, we don't know the answer to whether soy is beneficial,"
he said.