Fruit and vegetable intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project follow-up cohort. Flood A, Velie EM, Chaterjee N, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Lacey JV Jr, Schairer C, Troisi R, Schatzkin A Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. flooda@exchange.nih.gov BACKGROUND: Recent findings have cast doubt on the hypothesis that high intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. OBJECTIVE: In a large prospective cohort of women, we examined the association between fruit and vegetable intakes and colorectal cancer. DESIGN: Between 1987 and 1989, 45490 women with no history of colorectal cancer satisfactorily completed a 62-item Block-National Cancer Institute food-frequency questionnaire. During 386142 person-years of follow-up, 314 women reported incident colorectal cancer, searches of the National Death Index identified an additional 106 colorectal cancers, and a match with state registries identified another 65 colorectal cancers for a total of 485 cases. We used Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to estimate the relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs in both energy-adjusted and fully adjusted models. RESULTS: In models using the multivariate nutrient-density model of energy adjustment, RRs for increasing quintile of fruit consumption indicated no significant association with colorectal cancer [RR (95% CI)]: 1.00 (reference), 0.94 (0.70, 1.26), 0.85 (0.63, 1.15), 1.07 (0.81, 1.42), and 1.09 (0.82, 1.44). For vegetable consumption, there was also no significant association in the multivariate nutrient-density model with increasing quintiles of consumption: 1.00 (reference), 0.77 (0.58, 1.02), 0.83 (0.63, 1.10), 0.90 (0.69, 1.19), and 0.92 (0.70, 1.22). Additionally, 3 alternative models of energy adjustment showed no significant association between increases in vegetable intake and the risk of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: Although the limitations of our study design and data merit consideration, this investigation provides little evidence of an association between fruit and vegetable intakes and colorectal cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 2002 May;75(5):936-43 PMID: 11976170, UI: 21972115 Ann's NOTE: I sent the following to the lead author of this study: Dear A. Flood: I am very interested in the discussion on fruit/vegetables and cancer prevention. Can you either send me a full copy of your paper (via email is great), or tell me what level of fruit and/or vegetable intake was being compared? Did the study subjects eat one serving a day? Were they getting their five a day? Thanks for any further information. His answer: "In answer to your specific question, the study subjects were ranked according to their reported intake of fruits and vegetables (we analyzed each separately). The primary comparison was between women in the top 20% of intake vs. women in the bottom 20%. The range of intake was decent though not overly large, and that is a potential limitation on the interpretation of our findings (as stated in the discussion section of the paper). For more-specific details, you can refer directly to the data tables in the paper. Thanks again for your interest." Sincerely, Andrew Flood, Ph.D. Nutritional Epidemiology Branch Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, NIH 6120 Executive Blvd., MSC 7232 Bethesda, MD 20892 Ann's interpretations included Am J Nutrition Fruits/Veg & Colon Cancer Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.