Colorectal cancer (CRC) is recognized as “the third most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States.” According to a recent JAMA Oncology study, a
high fiber intake following a diagnosis of CRC is associated with an improved rate of survival. In this study, researchers evaluated 1575 healthcare professionals with stage I to III in 2 prospective cohorts, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The patient population consisted of 61.1% women with a mean (SD) age of 68.6 (8.9) years. As noted above, a lower mortality rate was observed in “patients who increased their fiber intake after diagnosis from levels before diagnosis.” Specifically, for “each 5-g/d increase in intake [there] was [an] associated 18% lower CRC-specific mortality (95% CI, 7%-28%; P = .002) and 14% lower all-cause mortality (95% CI, 8%-19%; P < .001).” It was thus concluded that a higher intake of total fiber following diagnosis of nonmetastatic CRC was associated with a lower mortality rate.
Song M, Wu K, Meyerhardt JA, Ogino S, Wang M, Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL, Chan AT. Fiber Intake and Survival After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis. JAMA Oncol. 2017 Published
online November 2, 2017. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.3684.