Blacks in U.S. Run High Risk of Colon Cancer

Studies on diet and cancer conducted in England show that black Americans are 10 times more likely to develop colon cancer than blacks living in Third World countries, a researcher said.

Epidemiologist Dr. Richard Peto of the University of Oxford in Great Britain said, however, that black Americans stand the same chance of dying from the disease as other members of the American population.

“When comparing populations of blacks in Third World countries and America, we find that the genetic pools are obviously similar,” Peto told scientists at a recent conference in Anaheim.

“However, blacks in America run the risk of colon cancer at 10 times that of other blacks. It could be the environment, but what you put into your body is the environment of the colon,” he said.

According to the American Cancer Society, 138,000 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year among all segments of the American population. About 59,900 people will die of the disease, which is second only to lung malignancies in the number of cancer-related deaths recorded annually.

“Fundamentally, our tentative research has found that cancer avoidance by nutritional means runs parallel to the established information on heart disease and blood cholesterol guidelines,” Peto said, citing fatty, non-fibrous foods as the prime culprits in the development of colon cancer.

Previous research has found that African and Caribbean populations have a low incidence of colorectal cancer because diets in these regions of the world include a high intake of raw fruits and vegetables, he said.

“Basically, the overall cancer rate is going gently downward worldwide except in the case of mouth, throat and lung cancers, which are a direct result of increased smoking,” he said.

“Smoking increased right after World War II and we are seeing that increase now in more mouth, throat and lung cancer.”