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2007-8-28 16:17:27 |
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Saturday August 18 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Eating fruits and vegetables may drastically reduce risk of esophageal cancer, according to a study published in the August 9 2007 issue of International Journal of cancer. The study by Freedman N. D. from National Cancer Institute and colleagues found that eating fruits and vegetables was inversely associated with risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but not with risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Multiple ecological and case-control studies have early found associations between fruit and vegetable intake and both ESCC and EAC. But protective studies on the associations are few. The current prospective study involved 490,000 men and women who were enrolled in the National Institutes of health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study. Participants were surveyed for their dietary habits. During the 2,000,000 person years of follow-up, 103 participants were diagnosed with ESCC and 213 with EAC. Overall, those who ate high amounts of fruits and vegetables apparently reduced their risk of ESCC for 22 percent, but did not reduced risk for EAC, the study found. Eating fruits was associated with a 27 percent reduction in ESCC whereas eating vegetables was linked to a 16 percent reduction. The variety of a fruit makes a difference. Intake of apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears and strawberries and citrus fruits was significantly associated with reduced risk of ESCC. Intake of spinach was inversely associated with risk of EAC. The researchers concluded that "the relation of fruit and vegetable intake and esophageal cancer risk may vary by histologic type." Esophageal cancer including ESCC and EAC forms in tissues lining the esophagus, the muscular tube through which food passes from the throat to the stomach. In the United States, 15,560 new cases of esophageal cancer are expected in 2007 and 13,940 people will die, according to the National Cancer Institute. |
