Nutrition and carcinogenesis: historical highlights and future prospects

Historical reviews were presented of several selected nutritional factors that are determinants of cancer incidence in laboratory experiments utilizing animals. An all-inclusive review of nutrition as it impacts cancer incidence was not done. Rather, the selection of subjects was based on a combination of several factors. (1) The efficacy of the factor as an inhibitor. (2) Current interest in the factor. (3) The extent to which the mechanisms of the inhibition is known and that knowledge may facilitate future studies. (4) The relevance to the human problem. The future of research on cancer prevention is bright. There are now mechanism-based rapid assays to detect food stuffs that prevent cancer and to assay for the active compounds therein. The list of inhibitors shown in Table 8 will continue to grow. The challenge is to achieve universal application to the human population of appropriate dietary practices that include foods that provide the protective factors shown in Table 8.