News in brief - May 8, 2000

Fiber studies fail to prove power to prevent colorectal cancer - New round of tobacco bills introduced on Capitol Hill

Fiber studies fail to prove power to prevent colorectal cancer

Two studies of nutritional interventions in people at high risk for colorectal cancer yielded no evidence that diet affects the growth of precancerous colorectal polyps in people who have already had a polyp removed. The results, which tested whether low-fat, high-fiber and high fruit and vegetable diets minimized colorectal polyp recurrence, were published in the April 19 New England Journal of Medicine.

These long-awaited findings from the Polyp Prevention Trial and the Wheat Bran Fiber Study were not what researchers expected. "Polyps are a point where we can intervene to prevent colorectal cancer," said Arthur Schatzkin, PhD, DrPH, chief of the National Cancer Institute's nutritional epidemiology branch and a lead investigator in the Polyp Prevention Trial. "These trials were done to test whether dietary change could prevent these people from getting more polyps and thereby reduce their risk of colorectal cancer. We were surprised and disappointed to find that dietary changes ... did not decrease the number of new polyps." But investigators emphasized that Americans should not give up on this diet, as it has been proven to foster overall health and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.

New round of tobacco bills introduced on Capitol Hill

Washington -- Public health advocates are again focusing on tobacco control legislation on Capitol Hill in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision in which the majority ruled that Congress had never given the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate nicotine. The result: In the House, Rep. Greg Ganske, MD (R, Iowa), and Rep. John D. Dingell (D, Mich.) introduced a measure April 6 to grant the FDA this power. It currently has 44 co-sponsors. On the same day, a similar bill was offered by Sen. Tom Harkin (D, Iowa), Sen. Bob Graham (D, Fla.) and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R, R.I.).