At a young age, the seeds are sown for cancer at an older age. One out of every three Dutch residents will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. In addition to smoking and a lack of exercise, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption play a role in this process Young people especially have little understanding that a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of cancer. This was the theme of the inaugural speech given by Prof. dr. ir. Ellen Kampman on 2 October upon her acceptance of the Professorship (personal chair) in Nutrition and Cancer at Wageningen University. She also expressed her concern about the use of nutritional supplements and vitamins, especially among cancer patients. If all Dutch residents were to lead healthy lives and eat properly, this could prevent 30,000 new cases of cancer annually. Now, approximately 90,000 people in the Netherlands are diagnosed with cancer every year.
In her inaugural address, Prof. Kampman called for clearer recommendations for the consumer, the patient and the policymaker. Among other things, she believes that a study must be conducted into how to formulate the recommendations in such a way that "the message is effective, especially with young people for whom cancer is still far away.”
Kampman understands that scientists view cancer much differently than the average consumer. The consumer appears to look for external causes, such as product additives. But she believes this is a misconception: the causes of cancer can often be found in one's own lifestyle, such as obesity or excessive alcohol consumption.
Cancer is caused by errors in or damage to the genetic information in cells. Only 1 in 10 cancer patients has inborn mutations in the DNA in their cells. For the other patients, the damage occurs during their lives. It appears that nutrition can play a role in switching genes on and off, stated Kampman.
Worldwide, more than 7000 epidemiological studies have now been conducted into the relationship between nutrition and cancer. A comprehensive report on these studies was published in December 2007 by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), with which Prof. Kampman was associated. Her teaching and research remit was also partly funded by the WCRF.
All these studies have now generated a good picture of the risk factors for cancer, regarding the link with nutrition. And good recommendations are available, such as preventing obesity, exercising every day for at least half an hour, moderating alcohol consumption (for men no more than two drinks per day, for women only one), eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole-grain products and legumes, and eating as varied as possible.
Folic acid
According to Kampman, relatively little research has been conducted into good nutrition for the cancer patient, who wants to “survive! With the best possible quality of life. And to prevent the cancer from recurring”. A study from the USA has shown that men with intestinal cancer who ate large amounts of pork, beef, high-fat and low-fibre products had only one-third the chance of still being alive after five years as men with different eating habits.
It is known that approximately 10% of cancer patients resort to nutritional supplements or vitamins. Although patients can feel very good when taking supplements or vitamins, the effect of these therapies has never been proven scientifically, stated Kampman. In fact, high doses of certain vitamin supplements, such as beta-carotene or folic acid, entail a risk. They can actually promote the cancer process, because tumours can also use the extra nutrients to grow.
At the present time, the government is considering legislation to require the enrichment of bread with folic acid as a means to reduce the risk of spina bifida in babies. Kampman does not want the government to take this step because folic acid has already been added by manufacturers to margarine, breakfast cereals and orange juice; if we also take nutritional supplements, we would receive a high dose. She is worried about this: “the percentage of the population that could potentially suffer damage from the folic acid enrichment is larger than the percentage that could benefit.”