James R. Marshall

Lack of Effect of a High-Fiber Cereal Supplement on the Recurrence of Colorectal Adenomas

BACKGROUND The risks of colorectal cancer and adenoma, the precursor lesion, are believed to be influenced by dietary factors. Epidemiologic evidence that cereal fiber protects against colorectal cancer is equivocal. We conducted a randomized trial to determine whether dietary supplementation with wheat-bran fiber reduces the rate of recurrence of colorectal adenomas. METHODS We randomly assigned 1429 men and women who were 40 to 80 years of age and who had had one or more histologically confirmed colorectal adenomas removed within three months before recruitment began to a supervised program of dietary supplementation with either high amounts (13.5 g per day) or low amounts (2 g per day) of wheat-bran fiber. The primary end point was the presence or absence of new adenomas at the time of follow-up colonoscopy. Subjects and physicians, including colonoscopists, were unaware of the group assignments. RESULTS Of the 1303 subjects who completed the study, 719 had been randomly assigned to the high-fiber group and 584 to the low-fiber group. The median times from randomization to the last follow-up colonoscopy were 34 months in the high-fiber group and 36 months in the low-fiber group. By the time of the last follow-up colonoscopy, at least one adenoma had been identified in 338 subjects in the high-fiber group (47.0 percent) and in 299 subjects in the low-fiber group (51.2 percent). The multivariate adjusted odds ratio for recurrent adenoma in tile high-fiber group, as compared with the low-fiber group, was 0.88 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.70 to 1.11; P=0.28), and the relative risk of recurrence according to the number of adenomas, in the high-fiber group as compared with the low-fiber group, was 0.99 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.71 to 1.36; P=0.93). CONCLUSIONS As used in this study, a dietary supplement of wheat-bran fiber does not protect against recurrent colorectal adenomas.

A randomized trial of the effect of a plant-based dietary pattern on additional breast cancer events and survival: the Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study

The Womens Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study is a multisite randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a high-vegetable, low-fat diet, aimed at markedly raising circulating carotenoid concentrations from food sources, in reducing additional breast cancer events and early death in women with early-stage invasive breast cancer (within 4 years of diagnosis). The study randomly assigned 3088 such women to an intensive diet intervention or to a comparison group between 1995 and 2000 and is expected to follow them through 2006. Two thirds of these women were under 55 years of age at randomization. This research study has a coordinating center and seven clinical sites. Randomization was stratified by age, stage of tumor and clinical site. A comprehensive intervention program that includes intensive telephone counseling, cooking classes and print materials helps shift the dietary pattern of women in the intervention. Through an innovative telephone counseling program, dietary counselors encourage women in the intervention group to meet the following daily behavioral targets: five vegetable servings, 16 ounces of vegetable juice, three fruit servings, 30 g of fiber and 15-20% energy from fat. Adherence assessments occur at baseline, 6, 12, 24 or 36, 48 and 72 months. These assessments can include dietary intake (repeated 24-hour dietary recalls and food frequency questionnaire), circulating carotenoid concentrations, physical measures and questionnaires about health symptoms, quality of life, personal habits and lifestyle patterns. Outcome assessments are completed by telephone interview every 6 months with medical record verification. We will assess evidence of effectiveness by the length of the breast cancer event-free interval, as well as by overall survival separately in all the women in the study as well as specifically in women under and over the age of 55 years.

The role of stress, social support and age in survival from breast cancer.

This study focused on the relationship of objective and subjective stresses to survival from breast cancer. The potential mediating roles of social support and age were also considered. This prospective study involved 208 white female breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1958 and 1960. At the time of diagnosis, subjects were interviewed regarding objective and subjective stress and social support present in the 5-year period preceding their diagnosis. Twenty years later, survival was calculated. The relationships between stress and survival were examined for three age groups: 15-45, 46-60, and 61 and older. Objective stress was related to survival for the oldest group while subjective stress was related to survival for the youngest group. Neither stress was related to survival for women aged 46-60. Social involvement was independently related to survival although it was not a mediator in the stress-survival relationship. Using the entire sample, stage of cancer at diagnosis was the best predictor of survival. However, when women aged 46-60 were eliminated from the analysis, stress and social involvement accounted for twice as much variance in survival as stage.

Relevance of major stress events as an indicator of disease activity prevalence in inflammatory bowel disease.

The impact of psychological stress in recurrence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unclear. Why some patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohns disease (CD) have unrelenting relapses whereas other IBD patients experience long periods of quiescent disease remains an enigma. The authors examined the risk of exposure to major stress events in clinical episodes of IBD. They followed up on 124 persons in a prospective study that monitored behavioral and biological characteristics for a period of 6 months. Stress-exposed subjects demonstrated increased risk of clinical episodes of disease when compared with unexposed subjects (RR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.3-4.9). Elevated effect measures were highest for the domain of health-related stress (RR = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.5-9.9). In the multiple regression analysis, major stress events remained the most significant indicator of disease activity in the presence of the covariables considered. Only 7% of the variation in disease activity was uniquely attributed to stress. Baseline activity was the other notable indicator of subsequent disease activity in the study sample. All variables considered together explained 52% of the variance observed and implicated factors of potential clinical importance in monitoring recurrence of the disease.

Diet in the epidemiology of gastric cancer

We examined the nutritional epidemiology of gastric cancer in 293 cases and neighborhood-, age-, and sex-matched controls in communities throughout the counties of Niagara, Monroe, and Erie in western New York. The interview was highly detailed, requiring two and one-half hours to complete; it attempted to provide an estimate of total calories ingested as well as of macro- and micronutrients and behaviors that could affect alimentary exposures, such as the use of refrigeration. We found that risk was enhanced by sodium, fat, and retinol. Substantial reductions in risk were associated with ingestion of carotene, especially raw vegetables (including celery, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, tomatoes, and onions), as well as with increased use of low-temperature food storage. Both refrigeration and carotene could inhibit oxidation products that could act as carcinogens in the stomach.

Diet and cancer of the esophagus

The reported dietary, alcohol consumption and smoking habits of 147 Roswell Park Memorial Institute white male patients diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus were compared with the reports of 264 white males of comparable ages with diagnoses other than cancer. Overall frequency of vegetable an fruit consumption was associated with lower risk; persons reporting fruit and/or vegetable consumption 31-40 times a month had significantly greater risk than those who reported consumption 81 times a month or more. Calculated indexes of vitamin A and vitamin C intake were similarly related to reduction in risk. Dose-response gradients were observed for frequency of vegetable and/or fruit consumption, as well as for vitamin A and C intake. The putative protective effect of vegetable and fruit intake remained evident after controlling for its possible association with smoking and drinking. Previously reported associations of smoking, alcohol use and social class, as measured by type of occupation, were replicated in these data. The findings of this investigation in instances of colon, lung, bladder, oral, and laryngeal cancers, and with evidence of tumor inhibition by vegetable properties in animals. Interpretation of the findings is limited by the difficulties of retrospective assessment of dietary intake and by possible confounding by other factors known to be related to esophageal cancer.

Measurement of current exposure to environmental tobacco smoke

Reports of recent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and urinary cotinine levels were obtained on 663 never- and ex-smokers who attended a cancer screening clinic in Buffalo, New York, in 1986. Study objectives included determining the prevalence of exposure to ETS using urinary cotinine and identifying questionnaire exposure measures predictive of cotinine. Findings demonstrate that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is extremely prevalent, even among those not living with a smoker. A total of 76% of subjects reported exposure to ETS in the 4 d preceding the interview. The most frequently mentioned sources of exposure were at work (28%) and at home (27%). Cotinine was found in the urine of 91% of subjects. Cotinine values increased significantly with the number of exposures reported. Among the different questionnaire measures of exposure that were evaluated, the single best predictor of cotinine was the number of friends and family members seen regularly by the subject who smoke.

Breast cancer risk, meat consumption and N‐acetyltransferase (NAT2) genetic polymorphisms

Although inconsistencies exist, some studies have shown that meat consumption is associated with breast cancer risk. Several heterocyclic amines (HAs), formed in the cooking of meats, are mammary carcinogens in laboratory models. HAs are activated by polymorphic N‐acetyltransferase (NAT2) and rapid NAT2 activity may increase risk associated with HAs. We investigated whether ingestion of meat, chicken and fish, as well as particular concentrated sources of HAs, was associated with breast cancer risk, and if NAT2 genotype modified risk. Caucasian women with incident breast cancer (n = 740) and community controls (n = 810) were interviewed and administered a food frequency questionnaire. A subset of these women (n = 793) provided a blood sample. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses were used to determine NAT2 genotype. Consumption of red meats, as well as an index of concentrated sources of HAs, was not associated with increased breast cancer risk, nor did risk vary by NAT2 genotype. In post‐menopausal women, higher fish consumption was inversely associated with risk (odds ratio = 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.4–1.0); among pre‐menopausal women, there was the suggestion of inverse associations between risk and pork and chicken intake. Our results suggest that consumption of meats and other concentrated sources of HAs is not associated with increased breast cancer risk. However, due to the strong biologic plausibility for a role of some HAs in mammary carcinogenesis, and the likely measurement error in evaluation of sources of HAs in this study, further studies of these possible relationships are warranted. Int. J. Cancer75:825–830, 1998. Published 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Diet in the epidemiology of oral cancer.

In this comparison of 425 oral cancer patients and 588 controls, it was found that risk increased in dose‐response fashion as vitamin A or vitamin C intake decreased. This elevation of relative risk persisted with control for smoking and alcohol ingestion.

Provider Counseling, Health Education, and Community Health Workers: The Arizona WISEWOMAN Project

BACKGROUND The Arizona Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) project used provider counseling, health education, and community health workers (CHWs) to target chronic disease risk factors in uninsured, primarily Hispanic women over age 50. METHODS Participants were recruited from two Tucson clinics participating in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Women were randomly assigned into one of three intervention groups: (1) provider counseling, (2) provider counseling and health education, or (3) provider counseling, health education, and CHW support. At baseline and 12 months (1998-2000), participants were measured for height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and blood pressure. Blood tests were conducted to check blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. At each time point, participants also completed 24-hour dietary recalls and questionnaires focusing on their physical activity levels. RESULTS A total of 217 women participated in baseline and 12-month follow-up. Three fourths were Hispanic. All three intervention groups showed an increase in self-reported weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with no significant differences between the groups. Significantly more women who received the comprehensive intervention of provider counseling, health education, and CHW support progressed to eating five fruits and vegetables per day, compared with participants who received only provider counseling or provider counseling plus health education. CONCLUSIONS All three interventions increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity but not fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention group with provider counseling, health education, and CHW support significantly increased the number of women meeting national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption.