Vincenzo Zappia – författare

The advancements in the last six years derive from the extensive use of molecular approaches to perform research in the nutritional field. Moreover, the fundamental observation of R. Doll and R. Peto (1981), which suggested that at least 35% of all cancers (with large differences among different tumors) might be prevented by dietary regimens, has been confirmed by epidemiological studies. However, it is difficult to reduce them to simple terms - metabolic and hormonal factors, contaminants and biological agents, and deficiency of specific protective nutrients are all components of the same puzzle. In the 1990s a large number of compounds responsible for the biological activity of human foods have been identified and characterized. These molecules not only include important and well-known risk factors but, most promising, compounds, which might exert chemopreventive activity. Among them, antioxidants (such as vitamins, phenols, and lycopene) seem to play a critical role in reducing the risk of cancer at different anatomical sites, including colon, breast, and prostate malignancies.Other molecules, derived from fiber bacterial intestinal degradation (short fatty acids), are of interest, even if their importance has not been completely unravelled and is still the subject of debate. Data suggest that dietary-derived compounds, including radical scavengers, affect cell proliferation by acting on the cell division cycle engine and thus might control the process (and the rate) of malignant transformation.

The major scientific advancements in the study of nutrition and cancer in the last six years derive from the extensive use of molecular approaches to perform research in the nutritional field. Moreover, the fundamental observation of R. Doll and R. Peto (1981), which suggested that at least 35% of all cancers (with large differences among different tumors) might be prevented by dietary regimens, has been definitively confirmed by epidemiological studies. The molecular studies reported in this volume include all of the major aspects of investigation on human nutrition and malignant transformation. In the last decade a large number of compounds responsible for the biological activity of human foods has been identified and characterized. These molecules not only include important and well-known risk factors but, most promising, compounds, which might exert chemopreventive activity. Among them, antioxidants (such as vitamins, phenols, and lycopene) seem to play a critical role in reducing the risk of cancer at different anatomical sites, including colon, breast, and prostate malignancies.Other molecules, derived from fiber bacterial intestinal degradation (short fatty acids), are of interest, even if their importance has not been completely unraveled and is still the subject of debate.

This volume contains the scientific contributions presented at the International Symposium held in Naples, Italy, in November 1992 at the National Tumor Institute "Fondazione Pascale". The Meeting gathered together experts from different disciplines, all involved in the vital and timely subject of Nutrition and Cancer. About 15 years ago a consensus among cancer epidemiologists began to emerge suggesting that diet might be responsible for 30-60% of the cancers in the developed world. The best estimate, reported in a now classical paper by Richard Doll and Richard Peto (1981), was that by dietary modification, it would be possible to reduce fatal cancers by about 35%. Within about six years there was widespread agreement that the principal changes required were a reduction in consumption of fat, along with an increase in the consumption of fruit, green and yellow vegetables, dietary fiber, and some micronutrients. Attention was also paid to the methods of cooking and preservation of foodstuffs. On the other hand very few, if any, effects were attributed to food additives and to pollution of food by trace pesticides, to which the general public often gives unfounded importance.

This book comprises proceedings from the Third International Conference on Advances in Nutrition and Cancer, held in Naples in May 2012. This highly multidisciplinary meeting analyzed “nutrition and cancer” from different perspectives and on the basis of distinct and up-to-date experimental approaches. Knowledge on the relation between lifestyle, diet, and cancer is explored in a number of contributions, and the role of dietary intervention in cancer patients is discussed. Issues of vital interest to the research community, such as epidemiological and experimental oncology (genetics, epigenetics, and the mechanisms of action of natural compounds in the diet), receive detailed consideration. A further key topic is the emerging molecular technologies (the “omics”) that can cast light on the interplay between nutrition and human malignancies. Chapters take the form of reviews that include sections presenting expert opinions.