An Aberdeen charity has given £100,000 to help fund a major study to explore whether diet can help prevent a cancer that is more common in the North-east of Scotland than anywhere else in Britain.
The money from CRANES – Cancer Research Aberdeen and North East Scotland - will allow the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with researchers from the Rowett Institute, to recruit a clinician to carry out a trial to see whether certain foodstuffs can prevent bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, claiming 17,000 lives a year. The North-east has the highest incidence of it in both men and women in the UK.
The study will investigate whether a range of produce such as berries, raisins, sultanas and fish oils, as well as spices like turmeric, can help prevent inflammation in the colon which can lead to bowel cancer.
The foodstuffs that will be used in the trial contain salicylates which occur naturally in many fruit, vegetables and herbs. Salicylates possess anti-inflammatory, painkilling and fever reducing properties. Salicylates are also produced synthetically and perhaps the most widely used one is aspirin, which is also used in long-term low-doses to prevent heart attacks.
Men and women from the Grampian region aged between 50 and 70 are already routinely screened for bowel cancer in Aberdeen. Those screened who are found to have high-risk bowel polyps – which if left untreated can develop into bowel cancer – will be invited to take part in the trial. Their polyps will be removed first. These patients are normally invited back after one year to have a repeat colonoscopy to ensure no further polyps have developed.
Half of the participants will be encouraged to increase consumption of dietary items naturally rich in salicylates for eight months eg cranberry juice, berries, raisins, sultanas and also fish which are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, another constituent that reduces inflammation and acts as an antioxidant.
They will be asked to keep a food diary, and blood and urine samples will be taken and analysed at the end of the eight month period.
For the next four months, this same group will be asked to boost their salicylic acid intake by taking a supplement which could be a food bar or a drink in addition to omega-3 fatty acids.
For the duration of the study, the other half of the trial group will just eat whatever they normally eat. They will also have blood and urine samples taken.
At the end of the 12 month, both groups will get colonoscopies to see if any have developed any further pre-cancerous lesions or polyps and to assess if the diet has reduced blood and tissue markers of inflammation.
Professor Emad El-Omar Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Consultant Physician, said: ”It’s absolutely tremendous that local charity CRANES has given such a generous amount to the University of Aberdeen. The funding will allow us to appoint a bright young clinician who will participate in this important study that has particular relevance to this part of the world.
“Chronic inflammation is the root of all evil as far as cancer is concerned – it is an important risk factor for the development of cancer.
“I would hope that our study will show that by eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory compounds we will see a reduction in inflammation which in turn will lead to a reduction in the risk of developing bowel cancer.
“We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for you, although many people struggle to eat their five pieces a day, but our trial will look at spices too.
“I have always been fascinated by the fact that India doesn’t have the problems that we have with bowel cancer so we will also look at whether adding spices like turmeric, which has powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, to food can make a difference too.”
Gladys Sangster, Chairman of CRANES said: “CRANES is delighted to be able to make this £100,000 commitment to the in-depth diet study - a commitment that could not have been achieved without the continued generosity of the people in Aberdeen and the North East.
CRANES is an Aberdeen based charity which works to raise funds in support of locally based research into the causes and treatments of all forms of cancer. Early detection of cancer is important to increase the success of treatment but prevention is the ultimate aim and this is why we feel that this type of research, here in the North-east of Scotland, is vital in the long term battle to beat the disease. As a charity we look forward to following the progress of this study, and of our protege clinician over the next two years."