To eat or not to eat: The NICE way

Gopala Kovvali
125 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, USA.
DOI: 10.1186/1477-3163-3-3

ABSTRACT

Seventh international symposium on preventive oncology and intervention strategies brought several scientists and physicians together in a French city, Nice from 7-10 th February 2004.

The conference covered several contemporary topics like apoptosis, angiogenesis and several interesting and insightful talks were presented by the delegates. The keynote addresses ‘ Cancer predisposition’, on the opening day by Dr. HT Lynch, the father of lynch syndrome, a hereditary non polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a highlight of the symposium. There were several talks on dietary influences, screening and detection, prevention and intervention, genetic and environmental interactions and susceptibility genes among many other topics.

As much as it shed spikes of useful information in the field of preventive oncology, the meeting brought the delegates to the ‘crossroads’ of cancer epidemiology. A thought provoking and very interesting closing address ‘Cancer Epidemiology at a Crossroads’ by Dr. Eduardo Franco seems to have summarized and reflected some of the private feelings and thoughts of the practicing scientists and physicians as to what is the right answer for questions like ‘what is the probability of getting cancer for an individual? Does aspirin cure and prevent colds and cancers alike? Should we eat more vegetables or beware of trace amounts of pesticides reported to be present in some of them? Are tobacco and alcohol the sole responsible factors for lung and upper aero-digestive tract cancers? It all seems to be in the ‘P’ value we all dearly believe in, to represent ‘probability’ and ‘prevention’. Dr. Eduardo Franco rightly suggested, clinical epidemiology is still an evolving discipline and the best of it is yet come. Read more….