Exercise and diet 'could cut cancer'
Source: Agencies |
March 26, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UP to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, a breast cancer conference was told yesterday.
While better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed the disease, experts said the focus should now shift to changing lifestyles.
"What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. We can't do much more," Carlo La Vecchia, head of epidemiology at the University of Milan, said. "It's time to move on to other things."
La Vecchia was speaking at a European breast cancer conference in Barcelona.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Europe, there were about 421,000 new cases and nearly 90,000 deaths in 2008, the latest available figures. The United States last year saw more than 190,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths.
Many breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. So experts suspect that the fatter a woman is, the more estrogen she's likely to produce, which could in turn spark breast cancer.
Even in slim women, exercise can help reduce the cancer risk by converting more of the body's fat into muscle.
Ian Manley, a spokesman for Breast Cancer Care, a British charity, said his agency had always been very careful about issuing lifestyle advice. "We would never want women to feel responsible for their breast cancer," he said. "It's a complex disease and there are so many factors responsible that it's difficult to blame it on one specific issue."
La Vecchia cited figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which estimated that 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer cases could be avoided if women were thinner and exercised more.
Drinking less alcohol could also help. Experts estimate that more than a couple of drinks a day can boost the risk of breast cancer by up to 10 percent.
While better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed the disease, experts said the focus should now shift to changing lifestyles.
"What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. We can't do much more," Carlo La Vecchia, head of epidemiology at the University of Milan, said. "It's time to move on to other things."
La Vecchia was speaking at a European breast cancer conference in Barcelona.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Europe, there were about 421,000 new cases and nearly 90,000 deaths in 2008, the latest available figures. The United States last year saw more than 190,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths.
Many breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. So experts suspect that the fatter a woman is, the more estrogen she's likely to produce, which could in turn spark breast cancer.
Even in slim women, exercise can help reduce the cancer risk by converting more of the body's fat into muscle.
Ian Manley, a spokesman for Breast Cancer Care, a British charity, said his agency had always been very careful about issuing lifestyle advice. "We would never want women to feel responsible for their breast cancer," he said. "It's a complex disease and there are so many factors responsible that it's difficult to blame it on one specific issue."
La Vecchia cited figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which estimated that 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer cases could be avoided if women were thinner and exercised more.
Drinking less alcohol could also help. Experts estimate that more than a couple of drinks a day can boost the risk of breast cancer by up to 10 percent.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
