Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

LOW DOSE ASPIRIN REDUCES COLORECTAL CANCER RISK

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-associated death in the United States (and in many other countries around the world).  Diet, obesity, and other lifestyle factors are known to play a significant role in colorectal cancer risk, as I discuss in detail in my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race. 

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin, have been shown to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.  Unfortunately, the majority of non-aspirin NSAIDs have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and so these drugs are seldom used, today, for colorectal cancer prevention.  (In most cases, their use for this purpose has become largely restricted to patients with inherited gene mutations that place them at extremely high risk for developing colorectal cancer.)

While high daily doses of aspirin have been shown to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, this form of cancer prevention therapy also has significant risks, including serious GI tract bleeding and kidney damage.  Until very recently, there has been very little high quality research data available regarding the effectiveness of low-dose aspirin therapy on colorectal cancer risk.  Now, a newly published study in the prestigious journal, The Lancet, indicates that low-dose aspirin therapy can, indeed, significantly reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

This report actually combines the long-term results from four large prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical research studies (the Swedish Aspirin Low Dose Trial, UK-TIA Aspirin Trial, the Thrombosis Prevention Trial, and the British Doctors Aspirin Trial).  Altogether, a whopping 14,033 patient volunteers were studied in these research trials, and the average duration of patient follow-up was a very impressive 18.3 years.

Overall, the use of 75 milligrams (mg) of aspirin per day, for 5 years or longer, dramatically reduced the risk of cancer in the upper colon, by about 70 percent.  While the incidence of lower colon cancer was not significantly reduced by low-dose aspirin therapy, the risk of rectal cancer was reduced by a very significant 42 percent.  Moreover, increased daily doses of aspirin (above 75 mg) did not result in any further decrease in the risk of colon cancer or rectal cancer.

The findings of this very large clinical research study represent a very significant breakthrough in our understanding of the role of aspirin in colorectal cancer prevention and, especially, in the optimization of daily aspirin dosing to maximize this drug’s cancer prevention benefit while simultaneously reducing the known (and sometimes serious) adverse side effects of chronic aspirin therapy.

As always, I must remind readers that they should first consult with their doctor prior to beginning aspirin therapy, as some health conditions may be associated with an increased risk of severe side effects when taking aspirin.

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GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.  For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: 

Texas Blues Jam

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month.  (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!)  As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

COFFEE, TEA, CAFFEINE AND BRAIN CANCER RISK

Coffee and tea are widely enjoyed around the world, and both have been the subject of numerous health claims (most of them unproven).  Tea, and green tea in particular, has been the focus of extensive research, with many prior studies suggesting that tea may improve cardiovascular health and, to a much lesser extent, may decrease the risk of some cancers.  Much of the published research regarding coffee has, on the other hand, been focused on trying to disprove purported links between coffee consumption and a potential increase in the risk of some cancers.  (Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of such research has not identified a strong link between moderate coffee consumption and an increased risk of cancer.)

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study is a huge ongoing prospective multinational public health study, and several of this enormous study’s preliminary results have already been published.  The EPIC study is focused on potential links between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle, and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer (among other chronic diseases). (EPIC is one of the largest studies of diet and health ever undertaken, and has already recruited 520,000 research volunteers in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.)  Now, a new update from this historic public health study suggests that increased coffee and tea consumption may be associated with a decreased incidence of malignant brain tumors.  This new update from the EPIC study appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Following an average duration of follow-up of nearly 9 years, 588 new cases of brain tumors were diagnosed among the EPIC research volunteers.  Gliomas, the most common and most aggressive type of brain tumors that occur in adults, were found to be 34 percent less common among people who drank at least 100 milliliters (3.4 ounces) of coffee or tea per day.  (Although not statistically significant, this association was also noted to be stronger in men, with a 41 percent lower risk of gliomas in men, as compared to a 26 percent reduction in glioma incidence in women.)

Although it is not clear what causes gliomas of the brain, prior public health studies have at least suggested a link between glioma brain tumors and chronic occupational exposure to high-intensity electrical and magnetic fields, and to rubber and plastics manufacturing.  (As I discuss in “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there is also some data linking prolonged cell phone use with an increased incidence of gliomas and other brain tumors.) 

Other smaller public health studies have also identified an apparent link between increased caffeine intake and a decreased incidence of gliomas, and there is laboratory evidence available suggesting that caffeine may reduce the growth of malignant glioma cells growing in culture dishes.  Thus, these new findings from the giant EPIC study further suggest the possibility that coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages might be able to reduce the risk of gliomas of the brain.

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GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.  For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: 

Texas Blues Jam

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month.  (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!)  As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

DIET AND LIFESTYLE HABITS THAT

DECREASE COLORECTAL CANCER RISK

In the United States, approximately 106,000 people will be newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2010, and nearly 50,000 people will die of this disease.  Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer (excluding skin cancer) in both men and women, and the third most common cause of cancer death in men and women.  Unlike many other types of cancer, an effective method of screening for colorectal cancer is available, in the form of colonoscopy.  Fortunately, the incidence of this cancer has been gradually declining over the past 20 years, due in great part to the early detection, and removal, of precancerous polyps from the colon and rectum at the time of colonoscopy.

The links between specific lifestyle choices and the risk of developing certain types of cancer forms much of the basis of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.”  The risk of developing colorectal cancer, in particular, has been strongly linked to multiple dietary and other lifestyle factors.  Now, a newly published public health research study from Denmark puts a number on the effectiveness of commonly recommended cancer prevention lifestyle strategies in preventing colorectal cancer.

In this study, which appears in the current issue of the British Medical Journal, 55,487 men and women between the ages of 50 and 64 were prospectively followed for an average of 10 years.  Each of these Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort Study volunteers completed validated surveys regarding their social status, health status, reproductive history, and daily lifestyle habits.  They also completed a food frequency questionnaire that included, among its 193 items, foods known to be associated with colorectal cancer risk (including alcohol).  All study participants also underwent physical examinations that included measurements of their height, weight, and waist circumference.  During the course of this large prospective public health study, 678 participants were newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

All study volunteers were assessed in terms of 5 modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors that have repeatedly been linked to a reduction in colorectal cancer risk:  Increased levels of regular physical activity, avoidance of obesity, abstention from tobacco use, minimal intake of alcohol, and the observance of healthy diet habits (including increased fiber intake, decreased dietary fat content, decreased red meat and processed meat consumption, and increased fresh fruit and vegetable intake).  Based upon only these 5 simple colorectal cancer risk factors, the adoption of any one of these 5 colorectal cancer prevention factors was associated with a 13 percent decrease in the risk of developing colorectal cancer.  Among participants who generally observed all 5 lifestyle and dietary prevention factors, the risk of developing colorectal cancer was reduced by 23 percent.  (Of note, while this observed reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer was noted for both colon cancer and rectal cancer, this finding was only statistically significant for cancer of the colon, specifically.)

The results of this large prospectively conducted public health study reaffirm the findings of previous studies, in that the risk of colorectal cancer can be significantly reduced by: Engaging in regular moderate exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding tobacco use, minimizing alcohol consumption, and by reducing the intake of red meat and processed meats and fat, while simultaneously increasing the consumption of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and whole grain foods.  For a more detailed evidence-based guide to colorectal cancer prevention, order or download your copy of “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race” now.  

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For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing colorectal cancer, and other types of cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: 

Texas Blues Jam

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month.  (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!)  As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

OCTOBER IS NATIONAL BREAST CANCER

AWARENESS MONTH

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT)

AND BREAST CANCER RISK

The rising incidence of breast cancer, year-after-year, over the past 50 years in the United States (and in many other industrialized countries) has been attributed to a variety of factors, including environmental contaminants, rising obesity levels, and increased compliance with annual screening mammograms, among others.  However, one factor that has been given inadequate attention, in my view, is that of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), despite nearly a century of data showing a strong linkage between lifetime exposure to the female hormones estrogen and progesterone and the risk of developing breast cancer.

In 2002, the enormous, randomized, prospective, blinded Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study published its preliminary results, and prematurely terminated its combination HRT study because of an alarming increase in the incidence of breast cancer in the group of women who had been secretly randomized to receive combination HRT medications for menopausal symptoms.

Despite subsequent updates from the WHI, which have shown, essentially, a doubling of breast cancer risk after more than 5 years of HRT use, there was initially a great deal of resistance to the WHI’s findings (and the findings of other similar clinical research trials) linking HRT use with an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Now, a new national Canadian public health study offers additional powerful clinical research data linking HRT use with breast cancer risk, and reveals the equally strong link between declining HRT use and the declining breast cancer incidence in Canada.  This study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In this study, 1,200 women between the ages of 50 and 69 participated in the National Population Health Survey between 1996 and 2006.  Just prior to the 2002 release of the WHI study’s results, 13 percent of these women regularly used combination HRT.  By December 2004, only 5 percent of the postmenopausal women participating in this study were still taking HRT medications.  During this same period, the incidence of breast cancer in this large group of Canadian women decreased by about 10 percent.  (Importantly, compliances rates with screening mammograms did not change during the course of this clinical research study.)

Thus, between 2002 and 2004, when HRT use significantly declined, the incidence of breast cancer decreased by about 10 percent in Canada.  Moreover, this significant decrease in breast cancer incidence occurred without any change in mammogram rates.

This study, as with other recent studies, adds to the overwhelming research data linking HRT use with an increased risk of developing breast cancer.  As I tell my own patients who are approaching menopause, it is best to avoid HRT altogether.  If you are already taking HRT medications, then ask your doctor to help you in weaning yourself off of these medications.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I urge our tens of thousands of regular Weekly Health Update readers to join in the global fight against breast cancer.  There are numerous organizations and groups, in virtually every community, that are sponsoring fundraising activities throughout October, including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  Another opportunity to participate (and at no cost!) is to vote for the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation Army of Women project in the Pepsi Refresh competition!  There are also many other worthwhile and deserving fundraising programs available for everyone to become involved in! 

For a deeper evidence-based discussion of the links between HRT and breast cancer risk, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: 

Texas Blues Jam

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month.  (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!)  As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

OBESITY AND CANCER RISK

We have become the heaviest people in the history of our species, with two-thirds of Americans officially classified as overweight, and one of every three of us tipping the scales into the “obese” range.  For too many of us, day after day, we load our bodies with more fat- and calorie-packed foods than our bodies can utilize.  Surrounded by effort-saving devices that have drastically reduced the amount of food-derived energy that our bodies can reasonably metabolize, a majority of Americans are becoming progressively heavier and heavier.  Moreover, obesity now affects a shocking percentage of children and adolescents in our society, and it is no longer uncommon to see children and teenagers with obesity-related diseases, previously seen only in adults, like diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, gallstones, and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to chronic illnesses that have long been associated with obesity, it has become increasingly clear that the risk of multiple different types of cancer is also increased by obesity.  Now, a newly published public health study, which appears in a forthcoming issue of The Lancet Oncology, underscores the disturbing extent to which excess weight increases our risks of several different common types of cancer.

In this huge public health study, more than 400,000 patient volunteers from Asia, Australia, and New Zealand were followed for an average of 4 years.  When obese study volunteers (BMI of 30 or higher) were compared with volunteers of normal weight (BMI less than 25), the obese volunteers were found to have a 21 percent higher risk of death due to cancer.  The risk of dying of certain specific types of cancer were even higher among the obese volunteers, including a 50 percent increased risk of death due to colon cancer, a 68 percent increased risk of death due to rectal cancer, a 63 percent increased risk of death due to breast cancer (in postmenopausal women), a 162 percent increase in the risk of dying of ovarian cancer, a 321 percent increase in the risk of death due to cancer of the cervix, a 45 percent increase in the risk of death due to prostate cancer, and a 66 percent increase in the risk of dying from leukemia.

The findings of this enormous public health study are worrisome, to say the least, and reflect the very serious impact that obesity has on our risk of developing cancer, and the risk of dying from cancer.

Obesity is a growing public health problem in the United States and, increasingly, around the world; and the list of chronic, major illnesses associated with obesity continues to expand (along with our collective waistlines).  If you are overweight or obese, then please consult with your physician for advice on how best to lose your excess weight.  Meanwhile, sharply reduce your intake of high-calorie and high-fat foods, and begin a responsible and consistent exercise program, under your physician’s supervision. 

For a more detailed discussion of the scientific links between obesity and cancer, look for the publication of my new landmark book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” in August of this year. 

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Tdv7XW0qg

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 new and returning readers who visit our premier global health information website every month.  As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Tdv7XW0qg

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 new and returning readers who visit our premier global health information website every month.  As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

SOY, CURCUMIN & PROSTATE CANCER RISK

Because chronic inflammation within the prostate gland is through to be an important risk factor for prostate cancer, anti-inflammatory dietary supplements and medications may be able to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by reducing inflammation.

Isoflavones from soy-based foods are known to act as a weak form of estrogen (the dominant female sex hormone).  Based upon this estrogen-like behavior, as well as potential anti-inflammatory properties, soy isoflavones are being studied as possible prevention and treatment agents for prostate cancer, and other types of cancer. 

Curcumin, which is present in the Indian curry spice turmeric, is also known to have potent anti-inflammatory properties, and has also been the subject of considerable cancer prevention and cancer treatment research.

A newly published prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled research study, published in the current issue of the journal Prostate, suggests that the combination of soy isoflavones and curcumin may have important potential prostate cancer prevention properties.

In the first part of this study, human prostate cancer cells were treated with a combination of soy isoflavones and curcumin.  Treatment of these human cancer cells with soy isoflavones and curcumin resulted in a significant reduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) production by these malignant cells (PSA is a marker of both prostate gland inflammation and prostate gland cancer).

As regular readers of this column are already aware, treatments performed in the laboratory that have beneficial effects on cancer cells, or on mice or rats, do not always have the same positive effects on living, breathing human beings.  Therefore, the findings of the second part of this study are of particular interest.  A total of 85 men with elevated PSA levels, but without prostate cancer (as confirmed by prostate biopsy), were enrolled in the second phase of this intriguing small study.  These 85 men were divided into two groups, and one group received daily supplements containing both soy isoflavones and curcumin, while the second (control) group of men received placebo (sugar) pills that were identical in appearance to the supplement pills (neither the 85 men, nor the nurses who dispensed the supplement pills and placebo pills, were aware of which pills each study volunteer was receiving until after the research study had been completed).

PSA blood levels were tested at the beginning of the clinical portion of this study, and once again 6 months later.  As was observed in the prostate cancer cells during the first part of this study, men with a PSA level of 10, or higher, experienced a significant reduction in their blood PSA levels 6 months after starting daily supplementation with soy isoflavones and curcumin.

Although this brief study cannot definitively confirm that soy isoflavone and curcumin supplements reduce the risk of prostate cancer, their ability to reduce elevated PSA levels in men with chronic prostate inflammation, but without evidence of prostate cancer, at least suggests a potential role in the prevention of prostate cancer (presumably through a reduction in prostate gland inflammation).

While there are multiple human research studies underway that are evaluating the effectiveness of soy isoflavones as cancer prevention agents, currently, there are no major human studies looking at the effects of curcumin on prostate cancer risk.  Based upon the findings of this small, interesting study of soy isoflavones and curcumin, which suggest a potential additive effect on PSA reduction when both of these dietary supplements are taken together, human research trials should be developed to look at the long-term impact, if any, of combined soy isoflavone and curcumin supplementation on prostate cancer risk.

For additional research information on soy isoflavones and curcumin in cancer prevention and cancer treatment, please review the following previous columns:

Soy Foods & Stomach Cancer Risk

Cruciferous Vegetables, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

Soy Isoflavones & Recurrent Prostate Cancer

Soy Isoflavones Decrease Breast Cancer Recurrence Risk

Genistein (Soy Isoflavone) & Prostate Cancer

Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Tdv7XW0qg

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 new and returning readers who visit our premier global health information website every month.  As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers” 

SOY FOODS & STOMACH CANCER RISK

There is a great deal of interest regarding the potential effects of soy-based foods (like tofu and soy beverages) on cancer risk.  As discussed in my forthcoming book (“A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race”), there is a growing body of laboratory and human research data suggesting that dietary soy isoflavones might be able to reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer.

Now, a newly published clinical research study from Korea suggests that high levels of soy isoflavones in the blood may also be linked to a reduced risk of stomach cancer, as well.  (Korea has one of the highest incidences of stomach cancer in the world.)  This study appears in the current issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

As most of the published research in the area of cancer prevention is based upon the subjective recall of patient volunteers regarding their diet (and other habits), the authors of this study chose, instead, to directly measure the levels of soy isoflavones in the blood of patient volunteers.  This study included 131 patients with recently diagnosed stomach cancer, and 393 “control” patients who did not have stomach (gastric) cancer.  Blood levels of the two major dietary soy isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) were directly measured in all 524 of these research volunteers, and these results were compared between the patients with stomach cancer and the “control” patients without gastric cancer.

Study volunteers with the highest levels of genistein in their blood, when compared with those with the lowest levels, were found to be 46 percent less likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Even more impressive was the finding that study volunteers with the highest daidzein blood levels were 79 percent less likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer when compared to the volunteers with the lowest levels of daidzen in their blood

While there may be other health-related factors at work among the study volunteers with high levels of soy isoflavones in their blood that could explain the much lower stomach cancer risk observed in these same patients, this study’s results are nonetheless intriguing enough to justify a large scale, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled soy isoflavone clinical research study to confirm the findings of this relatively small Korean public health study.

To learn more about the role of soy isoflavones as potential cancer prevention nutrients, look for the publication of my new landmark evidence-based book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” in the summer of this year.

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers” 

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES, SOY & BREAST CANCER RISK

The role of soybean-derived isoflavones in cancer prevention is not entirely clear at this time.  However, there has been intense interest in tofu, and other soy-derived foods, as potential breast cancer prevention agents.  At the same time, because genistein, and other soy isoflavones, are known to variably act as both inhibitors and mimics of estrogen (the primary female sex hormone), cancer experts remain divided regarding the safety of regularly consuming soy isoflavones by women who are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer (chronic estrogen stimulation of the breast is a known risk factor for breast cancer).  Meanwhile, the high level of tofu consumption among women in the Far East, coupled with the much lower incidence of breast cancer in those countries when compared to the United States and other western countries, has fuelled speculation that tofu and other soy-derived foods may actually be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. 

In addition to soy isoflavones, there is also research data available suggesting that the frequent consumption of cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, may also be associated with a decreased risk of at least some types of cancer, including breast cancer.

A newly published public health study from Singapore evaluated the impact of the regular intake of vegetables, fruit, and soy-derived foods on the risk of breast cancer within the large Chinese population in that country.  This enormous prospective epidemiological study, which began in 1993, and which appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included more than 34,000 women volunteers.  All of the 34,018 women in this study underwent detailed evaluation of their diets when they entered into this prospective public health study.  Among this very large group of women, 629 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed during the course of this ongoing study. 

Based upon their self-reported dietary patterns, the women participating in this large epidemiological study were divided into two groups.  The first group consisted of women who regularly consumed cruciferous vegetables, fruit, and tofu.  The second group of women generally favored meat and starchy foods (such as dim sum), and consumed far fewer portions of vegetables, fruit, and tofu when compared to the first group.

The results of this study indicated that increasing levels of vegetable, fruit and tofu intake were associated with a significant decrease in breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.   Among the women reporting the highest levels of intake of these foods, there was, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer when compared to the women who rarely ate these healthy foods.  Moreover, among the postmenopausal women who frequently consumed vegetables, fruit, and tofu, and who were observed for 5 or more years in this study, the apparent reduction in the risk of breast cancer grew even stronger, and these women were found to be 43 percent less likely to develop breast cancer when compared to women who rarely consumed vegetables, fruit, and tofu in their diets.

Therefore, in this large diet survey-based, prospective public health study,  a diet rich in vegetables (and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, in particular), fruit, and tofu was strongly associated with a significant reduction in breast cancer risk in postmenopausal Chinese women living in Singapore.

Although there remains some concern that soy isoflavones may, under some conditions, actually stimulate the growth of either new or previous breast cancers (or cancers of the ovary or uterus), this public health study’s favorable findings are additive to a growing body of research data suggesting that both cruciferous vegetables and soy-derived isoflavones may be associated with a substantial decrease in the risk of breast cancer in women. 

To learn more about the potential role of cruciferous vegetables and soy isoflavones as part of a cancer prevention lifestyle, look for the publication of my new landmark evidence-based book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” in the summer of this year.

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Tdv7XW0qg

In view of the extreme devastation and human misery brought about in Haiti and Chile by the recent earthquakes, Weekly Health Update asks our tens of thousands of caring readers to give generously to established charities that are currently working in those countries to assist the injured, the ill, and the homeless.  There are many such legitimate charities, including the following two:

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.imcworldwide.org/haiti 

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE!