For more than 50 years, it has been recognized that diet influences cancer formation both in humans and in experimental animals. In fact, early investigators successfully retarded the onset of tumors in animals by dietary manipulation. Such findings led to an early optimism that cancer would prove to be yet another disease resulting from dietary imbalances and might thus be amenable to prevention or cure by appropriate nutritional changes. Subsequent studies showed that the influence of diet on cancer formation was not only very complex, it also did not appear to playa direct causative role in carcinogenesis. Thus during the mid-1950s scientific interest in diet and cancer greatly waned. By the early 1970s, however, a resurging interest in diet and cancer became evident. This field of activity has continued to grow. Yet for over 20 years, no comprehensive meeting has been held to summarize the major developments concerning dietary modification of carcinogenesis over a broad range of essential nutrients. To fill this void, a workshop was held on the role of essential nutrients in carcinogenesis from January 30 to February 1, 1985, in Bethesda, Maryland, under the auspices of the National Cancer Institute. This volume is a compilation of the presenta tions made at that meeting.

Inhalt

1. Introductory Remarks.- 2. Brief History of the Role of Nutrition in Carcinogenesis.- 3. Epidemiologic Studies of Vitamins and Cancer of the Lung, Esophagus, and Cervix.- 4. Selenium, Vitamin E, Fiber, and the Incidence of Human Cancer: An Epidemiologic Perspective.- 5. Studies of Nutrients and Their Relationship to Cancer in the Multiethnic Population of Hawaii.- 6. Diet and Carcinogenesis: Historical Perspectives.- 7. Influence of Caloric Intake on Experimental Carcinogenesis: A Review.- 8. Dietary Fat and Experimental Carcinogenesis: A Summary of Recent In Vivo Studies.- 9. Dietary Fat and Neoplasia-The Role of Net Energy in Enhancement of Carcinogenesis: Effects of Fat and Calories on the Immune System.- 10. Oil Gavage Effects on Tumor Incidence in the National Toxicology Program's 2-Year Carcinogenesis Bioassay.- 11. Modification of Experimental Colon Carcinogenesis by Dietary Fibers.- 12. Dietary Fiber and Human Cancer: Critique of the Literature.- 13. Dietary Cholesterol, Serum Cholesterol, and Colon Cancer: A Review.- 14. Proteins and Amino Acids: Effects of Deficiencies and Specific Amino Acids.- 15. Dietary Protein and Experimental Carcinogenesis.- 16. Role of Tryptophan in Carcinogenesis.- 17. Hereditary Tyrosinemias (Type I): A New Vista on Tyrosine Toxicity and Cancer.- 18. Lipotropic Factors and Oncogenesis.- 19. Choline Deficiency and Chemical Carcinogenesis.- 20. The Role of Methionine in Carcinogenesis.- 21. Ethionine in the Analysis of the Possible Separate Roles of Methionine and Choline Deficiencies in Carcinogenesis.- 22. The Role of Vitamin B12and Folate in Carcinogenesis.- 23. Role of Vitamin B12 and Folate Deficiency in Carcinogenesis.- 24. The Influence of Niacin and Nicotinamide on In Vivo Carcinogenesis.- 25. Vitamin B6 Deficiency and Carcinogenesis.- 26. Riboflavin.- 27. The Role of Ascorbic Acid in Carcinogenesis.- 28. Some Thoughts on the Relationship Between Vitamin A and Cancer.- 29. Anticarcinogenic Effects of Retinoids in Animals.- 30. The Relationship Between the Vitamin D System and Cancer.- 31. The Chemopreventive Role of Selenium in Carcinogenesis.- 32. Inhibition of Chemical Carcinogenesis and Tumorigenesis by Selenium.- 33. Mechanisms of Selenium Inhibition of Tumorigenesis.- 34. Alcohol and Cancer.- 35. The Role of Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc in Carcinogenesis.- 36. Role of Zinc Deficiency in Carcinogenesis.- 37. The Role of Iodine in Carcinogenesis.- 38. Summary and Overview.- Contributors.