Media coverage of recent dietary intervention stud ies has cast doubt on dietary advice for cancer pre vention. The studies cited focussed on colorectal adenoma initiation as opposed to progression. There is ample evidence that in the colorectum the factors controlling initiation of adenomas differ from those causing progression to cancer, and that it is the latter that are the most important. In the light of this it is argued that studies of adenoma ini tiation are irrelevant to the advice given for overall cancer prevention.
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