Nutrition and Cancer: A Review of the Preventive and Therapeutic Abilities of Single Nutrients

Abstract

An increasing number of factors are being recognized as important in the relationship between nutrition and cancer. In this article, a number of such factors are discussed. This review does not claim to be comprehensive, but to provide, for each nutrient considered, an outline of the current scientific position, and some key references from the very extensive literature. Of the nutrients considered here, some have been shown to have therapeutic activity in animal models. Some (e.g. vitamin A and thymus) appear to have therapeutic activity in humans too. Most nutritional factors, however, have not been tested in humans at all. There is much research still to be done. It is clear, however, that the nutritional approach offers tremendous possibilities for prevention, and modest possibilities for therapeutic intervention.