Diet and colon cancer link

High GI linked to worse colon cancer prognosis, according to new research.

Even once a person has been diagnosed with colon cancer, their lifestyle and behaviour could have an effect on the outcome – patients have been found to have higher risk of recurrence and fatality if they have unhealthy diets, according to preliminary research from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US.
Lifestyle choices such as physical activity, weight and age are known risk factors for bowel cancer (also known as colorectal cancer). But up until now, however, no one was certain whether diet – specifically glycaemic load and carbohydrate intake – was also an influence on a patient’s outcome.
Bowel cancer affects parts of the large intestine – usually the colon or rectum – and there appears to be no hereditary aspect to the disease. Symptoms include changes in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, anaemia and possibly unexplained weight loss.
Observing more than 1,000 stage III colon cancer patients over a period of more than six months, the researchers questioned the patients on their dietary intake before, during and after their chemotherapy treatment. They looked specifically at glycaemic load, glycaemic index, fructose and carbohydrate intake and their relationships with mortality and recurrence related to the colorectal cancer.

Read more - http://www.saga.co.uk/health/news/2012/november/colon-cancer-and-diet-link-358.aspx