As the fourth most common cancer in men behind skin, prostate, and lung cancer,¹ colorectal cancer was diagnosed in 71,820 men in 2005.²  Since we don’t know the cause of colorectal cancer and doctors can seldom explain why one person develops the disease and another does not, all we have right now are risk factors, which include advancing age (90 percent of the diagnosed colorectal cancer occurs after age 50), the presence of colorectal polyps (growths on the inner wall of the colon or rectum), and  family history.³  As a result, knowledge on helping protect against colorectal cancer is at a premium.

 

Now a new study⁴ has found that helping men prevent colorectal cancer may lie in increasing their fiber intake.

 

In the study, data from 3,209 participants combined from two trials were analyzed to examine the effect of a dietary intervention on the recurrence of colon polyps in patients who had colon polyps removed before the study started.  In the first trial, called the Wheat Bran Fiber Trial, 1,429 men and women took either a high wheat bran fiber cereal supplement (13.5 grams of fiber in 2/3 cup cereal per day) or a low wheat bran fiber cereal supplement (2 grams of fiber in 2/3 cup cereal per day). 

 

In the second trial, called the Polyp Prevention Trial, 2,079 men and women were assigned to one of two groups. The first group followed a low-fat (20 percent of calories from fat), high-fiber (18 grams per 1,000 calories), high fruit/vegetable (3.5 servings per 1,000 calories) eating plan. The second group was given a brochure on healthy eating.  Both trials were conducted by the National Cancer Institute.⁵

 

Researchers found that men in the intervention groups had a 19% decreased risk of having a recurrence of colon polyps while “no significant association was observed” in women.  For the researchers, “The results of the current analyses indicate that men may experience more benefit from dietary fiber than do women.”

 

Reference:

 

¹  “What  You Need To Know About Cancer of the Colon and Rectum” on the National Cancer Institute Website http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/colon-and-rectum

 

²  “Colorectal Cancer” posted on the American Association of Cancer Research Website www.aacr.org/page4121.aspx

 

³  “Colorectal Cancer: Who’s At Risk?” posted on the National Cancer Institute Website www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/colon-and-rectum/page4

 

⁴  Jacobs  ET.  Fiber, sex, and colorectal adenoma: results of a pooled analysis.  Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Feb 2006; 83: 343 – 349

 

⁵  “Q&A: The Polyp Prevention Trial and the Wheat Bran Fiber” posted on the National Cancer Institute Website www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/developments/qa-polyp-prevention0400