Jennifer Reilly : Cancer study reporting misleading

The headline was clear, simple – and completely wrong. “Study: Fruits, veggies don’t keep breast cancer away,” proclaimed an article on the Web site of one of the largest newspapers in America.

Like many other media outlets, the newspaper was rushing to be the first to explain newly published findings from the landmark Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study. Unfortunately, this pell-mell pursuit of breaking news resulted in a rash of misleading media accounts of this important research project, which has actually found that consuming fruits and vegetables plays a critical role in helping women survive breast cancer.

As a dietitian who works with cancer survivors, I can tell you that many Americans are already deeply confused about cancer risk factors. Indeed, one recent national survey overseen by a University of Wisconsin researcher found that nearly half the population believes that “almost everything causes cancer,” and more than a quarter of the respondents believe people can’t do much to lower their chances of getting cancer.

That’s why it’s so important for journalists to give a full and accurate picture of important cancer research. Unfortunately, in today’s deadline-driven media world, where cost-cutting and layoffs are stretching newsrooms to the breaking point, getting the scoop sometimes seems to take precedence over getting the facts right.

The WHEL Study is a disturbing example of this unfortunate tendency. In June, University of California researchers who conducted this landmark research project released data showing that women previously treated for breast cancer who consume at least five fruit and vegetable servings per day and are physically active have a nearly 50 percent reduction in mortality risk compared with women who do not meet these healthful guidelines.

WHEL also examined another hypothesis: Researchers wondered whether consuming more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day would offer women even greater protection. However, as the findings just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed, even greater vegetable and fruit intake did not extend benefits beyond those achieved by the five-a-day comparison group.

In other words, fruits and vegetables are still important – and not just for survivors of breast cancer. The China Health Study has shown that people on low-fat, plant-based diets have strikingly low cancer rates. Large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians are about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared with meat eaters. And Ontario Cancer Institute researchers who analyzed data from 45 studies involving more than half a million women found that those who ate the most saturated fat (found mostly in meat, eggs, dairy products and chocolate) were on average 20 percent more likely to get breast cancer than those who ate the lowest amounts.

Unfortunately, that context was missing from much of the media coverage of the latest WHEL findings. The media is not alone in having a responsibility to be clear and accurate about cancer research. Health professionals must also educate consumers about the role of healthy diets in cancer prevention and survival.

In a country where about half the male population and more than one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, we all have to fight the confusion surrounding this terrible disease.