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Dietary fat and cancer. Progress in clinical and biological research, vol. 222
Fd Chem. Toxic. Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 71-72, 1988 Pergamon Journals Ltd. Printed in Great Britain
REVIEWS OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS Dietary Fat and Cancer. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, Vol. 222. Edited by C. Ip,
carcinogens, effects of lipids on intercellular communication, and fat and gut flora metabolism. Finally, the editors have given representatives from the meat and dairy industries the 'right of reply'. These chapters give much useful information on the changing patterns of consumption of animal fats in the USA. Also in this final section is a chapter on the current and future projects at the diet and cancer branch of NCI, and a review of the dietary guidelines proposed by numerous government agencies, private organizations and individuals throughout the world. In summary, this is a most enjoyable book that will be of greatest use to people who are actively involved in research in this fascinating area. It is refreshing to read a book that is not dominated by contributions from 'famous names' in the subject.
D. F. Birt, A. E. Rogers & C. Mettlin. Alan R. Liss, New York, 1986. pp. xv+885. £92.00. ISBN 0-8451-5072-3. Of all the dietary components that are thought to play a role in the aetiology of cancer in man, fat has come under the closest scrutiny. Indeed, the evidence, epidemiological and experimental, linking dietary fat with mortality from cancer of the colon, breast and to a lesser extent prostate, is very good. The expressed aims of this volume are to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the subject and to suggest directions for future research. The editors are clearly of the view that expert knowledge of the subject resides exclusively in North America (perhaps the book is meant to be a 'United State of the art') since only one of the sixty-two contributors is from outside the USA or Canada. The book considers the epidemiological evidence for a direct relationship between dietary fat and cancer of the breast, colon and prostate, and also covers experimental studies of fat and tumour induction in animal models. The book has achieved rapid publication by the use of camera-ready copy, which has inevitably resulted in a lack of uniformity in the appearance of the text. Furthermore, for such a relatively cheap method of production the book has turned out to be very expensive (£92.00), so although it may be "of value to oncologists, epidemiologists, nutritionists etc." it is diffcult to imagine any of them being able to afford it. These cavils aside, the book is really very good. It is somewhat obese at around 900 pages (which probably accounts for the cost), but is divided conveniently into six main sections. The first, epidemiological and clinical studies on dietary fat and cancer, includes chapters on methodological considerations in cancer epidemiology and clinical trials of dietary fat reduction in patients at high risk of cancer. There follows a section on the types and levels of fats in the US diet and nutritional requirements for fatty acids. The next two sections are devoted mainly to animal studies of the effect of fat on chemically induced cancer and of the interaction of fat and other dietary components in experimental carcinogenesis. This latter section is of particular value, since it is easy to get carried away with the good correlation between fat and cancer and imagine that the human diet contains little else. The chapter by Kritchevsky on fat, calories and cancer is especially good in this regard. In the following section there are a number of papers that explore various mechanisms that might account for the effects of fat on cancer. These include metabolic adaptations and changes in metabolic activation of
[Ian Rowland]
Naturally Occurring Carcinogens of Plant Origin-Toxicology, Pathology and Biochemistry, Bioactive Molecules, Voi. 2. Edited by I. Hirono. Elsevier Science Publishers BV, Amsterdam, xi + 234. $93.25. ISBN 0-444-98972-2.
1987. pp.
After a glance at any supermarket shelf, or for that matter, virtually any packaged food, the average man in the street could be excused for believing the adage,--"natural is safe; artificial is hazardous". Manufacturers appear to be falling over themselves in their haste to remove artificial colourings and preservatives from the foods and introduce natural substitutes. It is probably fortunate, therefore, for those who influence public opinion that a book boldly proclaiming the carcinogenicity of natural plant products is unlikely to reach the top of the best-sellers list. That natural does not equal safe has undoubtedly long been recognized by thinking man, since the fatal effects of the ingestion of certain plants (e.g. belladonna) are hard to miss. However, the recognition of an association between human cancer and a plant product is a much more recent phenomenon, in part because of the prolonged latent period there may be between cause and effect. It is likely that the first plant product to be accused of causing human cancer was the betel nut (by Orr in 1933), although the first experimental demonstrations of the carcinogenicity of a plant-derived material were probably not until the 1950s, when Schoental and co-workers showed that pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Senecio spp. were hepatocarcinogens in the rat, and Korpassy showed that tannic acid from nutgalls produced liver-cell and bile-duct tumours, also in the rat. This volume, entirely Japanese in authorship, is edited by Professor I. Hirono, who has made many contributions to the literature on the carcinogenicity 71
REVIEWS OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS Dietary Fat and Cancer. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, Vol. 222. Edited by C. Ip,
carcinogens, effects of lipids on intercellular communication, and fat and gut flora metabolism. Finally, the editors have given representatives from the meat and dairy industries the 'right of reply'. These chapters give much useful information on the changing patterns of consumption of animal fats in the USA. Also in this final section is a chapter on the current and future projects at the diet and cancer branch of NCI, and a review of the dietary guidelines proposed by numerous government agencies, private organizations and individuals throughout the world. In summary, this is a most enjoyable book that will be of greatest use to people who are actively involved in research in this fascinating area. It is refreshing to read a book that is not dominated by contributions from 'famous names' in the subject.
D. F. Birt, A. E. Rogers & C. Mettlin. Alan R. Liss, New York, 1986. pp. xv+885. £92.00. ISBN 0-8451-5072-3. Of all the dietary components that are thought to play a role in the aetiology of cancer in man, fat has come under the closest scrutiny. Indeed, the evidence, epidemiological and experimental, linking dietary fat with mortality from cancer of the colon, breast and to a lesser extent prostate, is very good. The expressed aims of this volume are to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the subject and to suggest directions for future research. The editors are clearly of the view that expert knowledge of the subject resides exclusively in North America (perhaps the book is meant to be a 'United State of the art') since only one of the sixty-two contributors is from outside the USA or Canada. The book considers the epidemiological evidence for a direct relationship between dietary fat and cancer of the breast, colon and prostate, and also covers experimental studies of fat and tumour induction in animal models. The book has achieved rapid publication by the use of camera-ready copy, which has inevitably resulted in a lack of uniformity in the appearance of the text. Furthermore, for such a relatively cheap method of production the book has turned out to be very expensive (£92.00), so although it may be "of value to oncologists, epidemiologists, nutritionists etc." it is diffcult to imagine any of them being able to afford it. These cavils aside, the book is really very good. It is somewhat obese at around 900 pages (which probably accounts for the cost), but is divided conveniently into six main sections. The first, epidemiological and clinical studies on dietary fat and cancer, includes chapters on methodological considerations in cancer epidemiology and clinical trials of dietary fat reduction in patients at high risk of cancer. There follows a section on the types and levels of fats in the US diet and nutritional requirements for fatty acids. The next two sections are devoted mainly to animal studies of the effect of fat on chemically induced cancer and of the interaction of fat and other dietary components in experimental carcinogenesis. This latter section is of particular value, since it is easy to get carried away with the good correlation between fat and cancer and imagine that the human diet contains little else. The chapter by Kritchevsky on fat, calories and cancer is especially good in this regard. In the following section there are a number of papers that explore various mechanisms that might account for the effects of fat on cancer. These include metabolic adaptations and changes in metabolic activation of
[Ian Rowland]
Naturally Occurring Carcinogens of Plant Origin-Toxicology, Pathology and Biochemistry, Bioactive Molecules, Voi. 2. Edited by I. Hirono. Elsevier Science Publishers BV, Amsterdam, xi + 234. $93.25. ISBN 0-444-98972-2.
1987. pp.
After a glance at any supermarket shelf, or for that matter, virtually any packaged food, the average man in the street could be excused for believing the adage,--"natural is safe; artificial is hazardous". Manufacturers appear to be falling over themselves in their haste to remove artificial colourings and preservatives from the foods and introduce natural substitutes. It is probably fortunate, therefore, for those who influence public opinion that a book boldly proclaiming the carcinogenicity of natural plant products is unlikely to reach the top of the best-sellers list. That natural does not equal safe has undoubtedly long been recognized by thinking man, since the fatal effects of the ingestion of certain plants (e.g. belladonna) are hard to miss. However, the recognition of an association between human cancer and a plant product is a much more recent phenomenon, in part because of the prolonged latent period there may be between cause and effect. It is likely that the first plant product to be accused of causing human cancer was the betel nut (by Orr in 1933), although the first experimental demonstrations of the carcinogenicity of a plant-derived material were probably not until the 1950s, when Schoental and co-workers showed that pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Senecio spp. were hepatocarcinogens in the rat, and Korpassy showed that tannic acid from nutgalls produced liver-cell and bile-duct tumours, also in the rat. This volume, entirely Japanese in authorship, is edited by Professor I. Hirono, who has made many contributions to the literature on the carcinogenicity 71