STUDY: Women who most often ate a Western diet were 46% more likely to develop colon cancer

JOURNAL: Arch Intern Med 2003;163:309-314.

AUTHORS:

ABSTRACT: Women who routinely consume a diet high in red meats, fats, and refined grains are at increased risk for colon cancer.

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COMMENTARY: Although the notion that consumption of a "Western diet" may promote colon cancer is not novel, several reports have failed to establish an association, the authors point out.

For example, in a study of more than 60,000 women reported last year, consumption of a Western diet was not tied to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

In the current study, women who most often ate a Western diet were 46% more likely to develop colon cancer than their peers who rarely consumed such a diet. In contrast, consumption of a Western diet was not tied to an increased risk of rectal cancer.

The findings are based on a study of 76,402 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study and were questioned about their dietary habits in 1984, 1986, 1990, and 1994. The women ranged in age from 38 to 63 years and none had a history of cancer in 1984.

The women were classified according to how well their diet matched a Western diet pattern as well as a "prudent" pattern, defined as a diet high in fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, and whole grains.

During the 12-year follow-up period, 445 cases of colon cancer and 101 cases of rectal cancer were observed, the authors note.

Compared with low adherence to a prudent diet, strict adherence to this dietary pattern was associated with a 29% reduction in the risk of colon cancer. Still, this association failed to reach statistical significance.

"We found that a diet high in red and processed meats, refined grains, and other characteristics of the Western pattern was associated with a higher risk of colon cancer in women," the researchers state. "Our study provides further evidence that switching from a typical Western diet to a more prudent diet may reduce that risk of colon cancer," they add.