Experts: Red meat culprit in colorectal cancer
By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:30:00 07/26/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Dr. Joey Sollano, a gastroenterologist of the University of Sto. Tomas Hospital, revealed in a July 1 Philippine College of Physicians-Zuellig Foundation health forum that red meat is a risk factor for colorectal cancer.
Cancers of the colon and rectum combined ranked as the third overall leading cancer site in 2005, according to the Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates.
As the cause of deaths, cancers of the colon and rectum were ranked fourth in 2005 for both sexes in the Philippines.
“Red meat is really associated with colon cancer,” he said. He noted that the fat intake of Filipinos is “very high.” According to him, as the consumption of meat had increased in Korea and Japan, so did the incidence of colon cancer in those countries.
Linked to obesity
Sollano also linked obesity to colon cancer. He said a person on a low-fiber diet runs a higher risk for getting colon cancer. “When you don’t move your bowel every day...Theoretically the waste products in your stool interact with the lining of your colon for a longer time.”
T. Collin Cambell, a Jacob Gould Schurman professor emeritus of nutrition biochemistry of Cornell University in New York, said: “Animal protein increases the levels of a hormone, IGF-1, which is a risk factor for cancer, and high casein (the main protein of cow’s milk) diets allow more carcinogens into cells, which allow more dangerous carcinogen products to bind to DNA, which allow more mutagenic reactions that give rise to cancer cells, which allow more rapid growth of tumors once they are initially formed.”
Campbell added: “If Filipinos decide to eat a plant-based diet and seriously reject fast-food chains, they would gain much stature, more health, and be much richer and independent in the future.”
Still wanting
The typical daily Filipino consumption of vegetables and fruits is just 111 g and 54 g, respectively, for a total of 165 g, Fely Velandria, supervising science research specialist of the Philippines’ Food and Nutrition Research Institute, said in a previous interview with the Inquirer.
She said the Filipino menu lands squarely below the World Health Organization’s recommended daily dietary allowance for fruits and vegetables—400 grams of vegetables and fruits per person per day (or two cups of raw vegetable salad or one cup of cooked vegetable per day, and three servings of fruits).
A book titled “The China Study,” which Campbell coauthored with medical student Thomas Campbell II, cited research data showing that animal protein promotes the growth of tumors. It is a project which culminated in a 20-year partnership among Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. It is about a survey of diseases and lifestyle factors in rural China and Taiwan.
Screening
Sollano’s paper “Screening for Colorectal Cancer in the Asia Pacific Region: Are We There Yet?” noted how the public, in general, was poorly informed about the rising incidence of colorectal cancer and the benefits of screening tests.
He co-authored the paper with Doctors Joseph Sung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Ming-Shiang Wu.
The three doctors comprise the Asia-Pacific Working Group on Colorectal Cancer. Sung also belongs to the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Princes of Wales Hospital.
They cited a survey in Singapore, which included 2,000 randomly selected subjects, that revealed only 1.4 to 2.7 percent of the interviewed subjects named colorectal cancer as a fatal disease and less than 50 percent knew that the colon and rectum were part of the intestines.
The experts also cited another study which showed that only 8.9 percent of the 1,033 Hong Kong residents interviewed knew that colorectal cancer was a common cause of death. The study was aimed at determining the subjects’ knowledge and attitude toward CRC (colorectal cancer) screening.
The paper cited that in the last two decades, there was a dramatic rise in colorectal cancer incidences and mortality in Asia. The Asia-Pacific region represents a diversified population with disparities in disease prevalence, health belief attitudes and healthcare infrastructures.
|
