A diet high in vegetables and fruits and low in red and processed meat extends the lives of women suffering from ovarian cancer, according to an American study reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Ovarian cancer is one of the most dangerous malignant neoplasms. Since it does not give any obvious symptoms for a long time, it is often detected at an advanced stage of development. This reduces the patients’ chances of recovery, as judged by their 5-year survival.
At the moment, medicine does not have effective methods of early diagnosis of this cancer, so it is very important to specify the factors that may affect the life expectancy of women who suffer from it.
Recently, there is a growing body of research suggesting that diet has an impact on the risk of ovarian cancer – it is higher in women who eat high fat and high calories. However, much less research concerns the relationship between diet and the risk of this cancer recurrence and patient survival.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago conducted a study on a group of 351 women diagnosed with primary ovarian cancer. Each patient completed a questionnaire regarding the frequency of consumption of various foods – fruit, vegetables, grain products, meat, dairy products, fats and oils, sweets and alcohol – in the 3-5 years preceding the diagnosis. Additionally, meat, dairy and cereal products were divided into healthier and less recommended products.
It turned out that eating more fruit and vegetables or only vegetables was associated with longer survival of the patients. The consumption of healthy cereal products, i.e. whole grain, was equally beneficial, while a high proportion of red or highly processed meat in the diet was associated with a shorter survival of sick women.
According to the authors of the study, the results of these studies indicate that the diet in the few years before the diagnosis of ovarian cancer may affect the course of the disease. A diet generally considered healthier, i.e. rich in plant products and low in fats, has a more beneficial effect. It generally contains more ingredients that can protect against the development of cancer and reduce the absorption of carcinogenic compounds present in food (PAP).