Women who follow certain diet and lifestyle recommendations can cut their cancer risk by a third. Thats one of the conclusions of a large study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and other institutions, published in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, the journal of the American Institute for Cancer Research. James R. Cerhan, M.D., and colleagues studied the diet and lifestyle habits of nearly 30,000 women between the ages of 55 and 69 over a 13-year period. Participants were asked about their adherence to recommendations developed by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in 1997. AICR, established in 1982, promotes research into the role of diet and nutrition in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Cerhans group assigned participants a number rating depending on how many of the recommendations they followed. The incidence of cancer among participants was then correlated with guideline adherence. After 13 years of follow-up, nearly 7% (4,379) of the women had developed cancer; 1.434 had died from the disease. . Women who followed a majority of the lifestyle and diet recommendations developed by the American Institute [for] Cancer Research had a lower risk of developing or dying from cancer - any cancer, Cerhan told cancerpage.com in a telephone interview. Conversely, women who followed less than six recommendations were at increased risk of cancer incidence, the authors write. Women who followed none or one of the recommendations had a 35% greater risk of developing cancer and a 43% greater risk of dying from cancer than women who followed 6-9 of the recommendations. Not a single woman in 29,564 participants followed all nine recommendations and 68 followed none of them. The guidelines that were developed are pretty familiar and we can summarize them as dont smoke, control body weight, exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, Cerhan said. More specifically the nine recommendations distilled from the original 14 AICR recommendations studied were: Dont smoke.Have a maximum body mass index of less than 25.Limit weight gain after age 18 to 11 pounds. Engage daily in moderate physical activity and weekly in vigorous activity.Eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruits every day.Limit consumption of alcohol.Limit consumption of red meat to about 3 oz. a day.Limit intake of fatty foods, especially animal fatsLimit use of salt. Cerhan said while this research does not speak to other populations, such as younger women or men, we have no reason to suspect these gains wouldnt be important for other groups. Given all the medical data that went into making the guidelines and now that weve actually tested them, it does raise the issue that were getting close to coming to some reasonable degree of consensus on the types of guidelines that should be out there, and that we can simplify some of these messages for the public that they can then follow, Cerhan said. SOURCES: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2004; 13(7): 1114-1120. Cancerpage.com telephone interview with Dr. James Cerhan, M.D., 7-06-04

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