Dietary Habits Could Affect Risk for Colorectal Cancer Recurrence

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. Epidemiologic studies have implicated diet and lifestyle as potential contributors to developing colorectal cancer. For patients with stage III colorectal cancer, adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (FU)-based chemotherapy lengthens survival and lowers risk for recurrence after surgery. However, limited data are available about the effect on recurrence of patient diet after successful treatment with surgery and adjuvant therapy.

Researchers now report an analysis of the dietary patterns of more than 1000 patients in an adjuvant treatment study, in which they received 5-FU and leucovorin, with or without irinotecan; all patients had undergo…