Starchy, high carbohydrate diet associated with recurrence of colon cancer

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/dci-shc110612.php

Public release date: 7-Nov-2012
Contact: Anne Doerr
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

BOSTON--Colon cancer survivors whose diet is heavy in complex sugars and carbohydrate-rich foods are far more likely to have a recurrence of the disease than are patients who eat a better balance of foods, a new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers indicates.

The connection is especially strong in patients who are overweight or obese, the authors write. More than 1,000 patients with advanced (stage III) colon cancer participated in the study, one of the first to examine how diet can affect the chances that the disease will recur. The findings are being published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and will appear later in the journal's print edition.

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They found that participants with the highest dietary levels of glycemic load and carbohydrate intake had an 80 percent increased risk of colon cancer recurrence or death compared with those who had the lowest levels. Among patients who were overweight or obese (had a body mass index above 25 kg/m2), the increase was even greater.