Abstract
This article summarizes the current status and future prospects of nutrition in cancer prevention and management. The causes and pathogenesis of cancer and cancer cachexia are discussed, and the role of diet and nutrition in cancer etiology, treatment, and prevention are addressed. Informatics, genomics, nutriceuticals, cancer chemoprevention, and behavioral research are identified as areas of research that must be pursued if advances in cancer nutrition are to be realized.
THE field of cancer nutrition includes a range of diverse, stimulating, and occasionally controversial topics. Issues addressed in a recent conference on cancer nutrition included the history of nutrition-related cancer research; the role of diet in cancer causation and prevention; specialized nutrition support in cancer patients; the epidemiology of cancer and cancer prevention; relationships between behavior, diet, and cancer; and the ethics and practice of palliative care in terminally ill cancer patients (see issue 3 of this volume). This article presents related studies and hypotheses on the current status and future prospects of nutrition in cancer prevention and management based on my experience as an oncologic surgeon.