Food and Cancer - L7 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Food and Cancer - L7 Deck (31)
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1
Q

In the world-wide exercise what did “test of reproducibility” mean ?

A

all the areas studying the effects undertook the same methodology to ensure data findings could be replicated

2
Q

Why did the WCRF do a world-wide study ?

A

because there was a huge increase in the number of papers from 1997-2007

3
Q

What is a meta-analyses?

A

looking at lots of different tides with their own risk estimates. The data is then pooled together to form an overall risk estimate

4
Q

In the stomach cancer review what different types of studies were used in the meta-analysis ?

A
11 RCTs
94 prospective studies 
197-case control studies 
10 cross sectional studies 
135 ecological studies 
7 case to case studies (genetic) 
18- case- series studies
5
Q

What is a forest plot?

A

it is plot used for meta-analysis studies

it is a typical plot for cohort or case control analysis

6
Q

What do the lines and squares on the forest plot represent ?

A

each of the lines and squares represents a separate study -the size of the square indicates the population size of each study
estimate and confidence interval of each study is highlighted

7
Q

What is the middle line of the plot and what does the pooled estimate show?

A

the middle line is the line of no effect - if an estimate lies on this line then there is no increase or decreased risk of that study
if the pooled estimate went across the line of no effect then it would not be statistically significant
the pooled estimate indicates the level of risk depending on which side on the line it lies

8
Q

What is the link between the squares and lines associated with studies ?

A

even if the square of a study is indicating an increased or decreased risk, if the confidence interval crosses the line of no effect then it may not be statistically sginifcant due to lots of variation between studies

9
Q

What does it mean by forest plots look at heterogeneity ?

A

they look at how variable the outcome are from different studies
- if very different studies had been pooled together then it would be meaningless and this would be shown in the meta-analysis plot

10
Q

When looking at a forest plot how can you determine whether the results are similar across the studies ?

A

1) Eyeball test: do they look similar
2) Test o “null hypothesis” of no variation (p-value)
3) proportion of variation not due to chance (I>2)- important to check because it may have been manipulated . The higher it is= less confidence of pooling data appropriately

11
Q

In the world-wide study of diet and cancer how did the experts draw conclusions from the information ?

A

CONVINCING- indicates component of diet was causal
-evidence from more than 1 study type and at least 2 cohort studies
-no substantial unexplained heterogeneity, measurement error or confounding factors
-confirmatory experimental evidence
PROBABLE
-evidence from at least 2 cohort studies or five case-control studies
-no substantial unexplained heterogeneity, measurement error or bias
-biological plausability

12
Q

What are the WCRF Uk’s recommendations for cancer prevention ?

A

1) be as lean as possible without being underweight
2) be physically active for at least 30 minutes everyday
3) limit consumption of energy dense foods
4) eat more of a variety of plant foods
5) limit consumption of red meats and avoid processed meats
6) limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women per day
7) limit consumptions of salty foods
8) dont use supplements to protect against cancer

13
Q

What are the additional WCRF’s recommendations for women ?

A

Mothers to breastfeed and children to be breastfed

- action protects both mother and child

14
Q

What is the link between red meat/processed meat and cancer ?

A

strong evidence that red and processed meat are causes of bowel cancer and that no amount of processed meat can be confidently shown not to increase risk

15
Q

Why is processed meat worse than red meat ?

A

because during the processing process chemicals are added

16
Q

What is the recommended consumption of red meat ?

A

consume less than 500g a week and very little to be processed

17
Q

Which cancers are particularly linked to red meat consumption ?

A

both red meat and processed meat consumption linked to colorectal cancer

18
Q

What was determined between colon cancer and red meat consumption in an ecological study across many different countries ?

A

indicated increased meat consumption leads to increase incidence of colon cancer
HOWEVER
ecological fallacy- dont know if individual risk in each country was true

19
Q

When a forest plot was constructed for the association between colon cancer and red meat consumption, what was shown ?

A

the pooled estimate was 43% therefore there is a 43% increased risk of colorectal cancer for every extra red meat eating occasion per week - it was statistically significant

20
Q

What is the resounding evidence of red meat consumption and cancer ?

A

from at least 4 meta-analyses studies:

  • 17-30% increased risk of bowel cancer in relation to 100-120g/day of red meat
  • 9-50% increased risk of bowel cancer in relation to 25-50g/day of processed meat= there is a large variation for processes meat, this may be due to different classifications of what processes meat is
21
Q

What did a food diary study show about red meat consumption ?

A

it found no effect of 50g/day red or processed meat

however the number of participants was small and the amount they consumed was relatively low

22
Q

What has the WCRF stated about red meat consumption and cancer?

A

substantial amounts of evidence from cohort studies have demonstrated a dose-response relationship supported by evidence for plausible mechanism between red meat consumption and cancer and therefore there is sufficient evidence that red and processed meat consumption increases CRC risk

23
Q

What did the UK advisory committee on nutrition suggest about red meat consumption and cancer?

A

red and processed meat intake was probably associated with increased risk of CRC cancer

24
Q

What have the WCRF advised ?

A
limit to 70g/day of red and processed meat 
which is approximately
- steak size of a pack of cards
-3 rashes of bacon
-2 average sized beef burgers
-1 quarter pound beef burger
-3 average slices of ham
25
Q

What is so bad about red and processed meat ?

A
  • energy rich - obesity linked to colorectal cancer- meat eaters tend to have a higher BMI which is linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer
  • total and saturated fat content of meat - sat fat affects cholesterol production, precursor of oestrogens
26
Q

What effect between the high protein content of red meat and colorectal cancer and what can be concluded from this ?

A

high protein content of meat-fermentation products of excess protein didn’t cause colorectal cancer in rodents
therefore
suggested that it is the macronutrient profile of red meat that is causative

27
Q

What are HCAs and what is their link to red meat?

A

heterocyclic amines and polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAH) formed during browning of meat

  • these are potent carcinogens in animal models at high doses
  • several epidemiological studies have shown an increased risk of colorectal cancer in people eating browned red meats
28
Q

Although the browning of meat and HCAs and PAH have been associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. What factor disagrees with this ?

A

the fact that chicken is also rich in HCAs and PAH but there is no link to colorectal cancer - could be due to different HCAs and PAHs having different potencies

29
Q

Why is it relevant that red meat contains a haem group ?

A

haem group

  • increases colonic cytotoxicity
  • epithelial proliferation
  • increased oxidative stress- acts as pro-oxidant
30
Q

What does the haem in red meat do ?

A

it stimulates endogenous production of mutagenic nitroso compounds

  • this compound can be found in stool samples because the colon lining cells shed in the stools and therefore the levels of damaged genetic material can be determined
  • in red meat eaters there was higher damged genetic material in comparison to vegetarians and this may have been due to the higher nitroso compounds in the red meat eaters
31
Q

Although it would appear that too much red meat consumption may be bad why is it important to eat?

A

if women didn’t eat it then they could be at risk of suffering from low iron concentrations
red meats are a good source of micronutrients