Eat foods that decrease Inflammation in the body can help people with Advanced colon cancer survive longer, According to research presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
The results, presented on Sunday, suggest that cancer patients can have at least a certain control over the results of their disease, even at subsequent stages.
“This is the most common question that patients ask me when I see them in the clinic,” said Dr. Kimmie NG, author of the new study and associate chief of the gastrointestinal oncology division in Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “What can I do myself to try to improve my chances, help me live as long as possible?”
The NG study – which has not yet been published in a newspaper evaluated by peers – examined the diets of 1,625 adults with stadium 3 colon cancer, which means that cancer has spread to the lymph nodes nearby, but not to other parts of the body.
With standard care – surgery and chemotherapy in most cases – about three -quarters of patients can expect to live at least five years after their diagnosis, According to the American Cancer Society.
The new research suggests that the diet can influence these chances.
“What is unique in colon cancer is that it is a digestive tube cancer,” said Dr. Sara Char, co-author of NG and clinical scholarship in hematology and oncology in Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “What we eat will inevitably go through the colon.”
All patients in the new analysis have obtained the same treatment: surgery, followed by three to six months of chemotherapy. They also fulfilled food questionnaires during and after their chemotherapy treatments. The researchers followed the participants for five years.
Patients who regularly ate foods that promote inflammation in the body – ultra -proposed foods, excessive amounts of sugar and saturated fats – presented a risk up to 87% of their death from people who ate a much less inflammatory diet.
THE A less inflammatory diet was more focused on plantsAnd includes foods such as green leafy vegetables, carrots, coffee and tea.
Real world examples
Cancer centers have dietitists working with patients to make sure they get good nutrition during their treatment, Heather Greenlee, medical director of integrative medicine at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, said. Chemotherapy, for example, can be accompanied by side effects, including the difficulty of swallowing and a bad appetite.
Once the treatment is completed, patients may need additional help to make food changes to improve long -term survival.
“The problem that many patients face is that people do not know how to bring these lasting food changes over time,” said Greenlee, who was not involved in research either.
Greenlee head Fred Hutch’s Cook for your life Program for people who have had cancer.
“It is really important that large studies like this are made to show that there is this potential advantage for lifestyle and behavior changes to some of these cancers that are difficult to treat,” she said.
It recommends an approach focused on the plant, such as adding beans, broccoli and cauliflower to meals, as well as fiber-rich foods. “These are all good places to start,” said Greenlee.
Exercise exercise
Patients have also increased their chances of living longer with physical activity.
People who have eaten diets less likely to promote inflammation and who have been equivalent to a quick walk for an hour at least three times a week had a risk of 63% of any cause during the five -year follow -up period.
A distinct studyAlso presented on Sunday at the cancer meeting, the regular exercise was linked to a risk of 28% reduction in cancer, a new diagnosis of cancer or a death.
More than 150,000 people are diagnosed With colorectal cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Not only can healthy lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise, can have an impact after a diagnosis of cancer,” said Dr. Julie Gulow, a medical doctor of the American Society of Clinical ONCology, “they are absolutely good than the advantages we see of drugs, and probably even better”.
