Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access published online on October 9, 2007
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, doi:10.1093/jnci/djm214
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© Oxford University Press 2007.
MEMO TO THE MEDIA |
Low-Fat Diet Possibly Linked to Lower Risk of Ovarian Cancer
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
A low-fat diet may decrease the risk of ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a study published online October 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Previous reports from the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Randomized Controlled Trial examined the effect of a low-fat diet on the risk of breast and colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women, but it was not yet known whether the same diet would alter ovarian cancer risk.
Ross Prentice, Ph.D., of Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle and colleagues analyzed data from the dietary modification trial to see if the changes in the women's diets decreased the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer and invasive cancers overall. In the trial, nearly 20,000 women were randomly assigned to the diet modification group and almost 30,000 women ate their normal diet. The women participating in the diet were asked to reduce their fat intake to 20 percent of their overall diet, as well as eat at least five serving of fruits and vegetables a day and at least six servings of whole grains. They were followed for an average of eight years.
The risk of ovarian cancer was similar in the two groups for the first four years of follow-up, but it was reduced in the dieting group during the following four years. Women who had the highest fat intake before the trial saw the greatest reduction in risk. There was no difference in endometrial cancer risk between the two groups, but a trend toward a reduction in invasive cancers overall was suggested in the dieting group. It was not, however, statistically significant.
"Ongoing ...follow-up of trial participants may provide additional valuable assessment of the effects of a low-fat dietary pattern on these and other cancer incidence rates," the authors write.
Contact:
- Kristen Woodward, senior media relations manager, Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, kwoodwar{at}fhcrc.org, (206) 667-5095
Citation:
- Prentice RL, Thomson CA, Caan B, Hubbell FA, Anderson GL, et al. Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Cancer Incidence in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Randomized Controlled Trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2007; 99:1534–1543
Note to Reporters:
We have started up an e-mail list to alert reporters when papers are available on the EurekAlert site. If you would be interested on being on this list, please let us know at jncimedia{at}oxfordjournals.org. The content will continue to be available through EurekAlert's e-mail system and our EurekAlert page.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all news coverage. Visit the Journal online at http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/.
Related Article in JNCI
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
J Natl Cancer Inst 2007 99: 1534-1543.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||