This book was inspired by a gatheringofscientists in Los Angeles in 1994 under the auspices of the UCLA Clinical Nutrition Research Unit which is funded by the National Cancer Institute to promote new research into nutrition and cancer prevention. This unit supports research integrating basic and metabolic/clinical investigations which examine observations from epidemiologic studies and their application to the prevention ofcommon forms ofcancer through nutritional intervention. There is a great deal ofinformation from epidemiologic, experimental and metabolic studies implicating elements ofthe diet as important in the development and progression of common forms ofcancer including breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and uterine cancer. When these forms ofcancerareexaminedcarefully, it isclearthat they share anumber ofcommon etiologic factors related to dietary fat, lipids, and hormones. A human cancer is usually discovered at a point where it has formed a detectable mass. For many forms of cancer, this may require 10 to 15 years from the time when the cancer is first initiated. Nutritional efforts at prevention may delay the progression ofcancer to a detectable mass resulting in reduced incidence and may retard the clinical progression and metastatic spread ofcancer after its primary treatment.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) sponsored its second annual conference on nutrition and cancer. The theme was "Exercise, Calories, Fat, and Cancer" and the conference was held September 4-5, 1991 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City, Virginia. This proceedings volume contains chapters from the platform presentations and abstracts from each poster presentation. Relationships among physical activity, calorie consumption, energy expenditure, dietary fat, and cancer are described in the context of epidemiologic, animal, and in vitro studies. Dietary recommendations to lower cancer risk are based on expanding evidence relating nutrition and cancer. Identification of the precise dietary contribution to disease is complicated by the concurrent genetic and environmental contributions, in addition to the inherent difficulties in gathering and interpreting epidemiologic data. Individual variations in cancer risk are the result of differences in genetic and environmental factors including sources and amounts of calories consumed, metabolism, and energy expenditure. Human and animal studies describing independent and combined influences of exercise, calorie restriction, and dietary fat on carcinogenesis are reported in this volume.

Abstracts: This collection of proceedings provides the latest scientific information in fat chemistry and technology as related to nutrition, the general role of fats in nutrition, metabolism of isomeric fats, and the role of vitamins A, D, K, and E in health and disease. The role of lipids in heart disease and cancer, and the effects of diet on the high density lipoproteins were also discussed.

As data is accumulated life-style characteristics are shown to be major determinates of cancer risk in humans. Of these, diet is the most ubiquitous. Food constituents have been identified which can cause or enhance the likelihood of cancer and, conversely, protect against it. Such data encourage the hope that a full understanding of the impact of dietary constituents on carcinogenesis will lead to important means of cancer control. This international symposium coincided with an increasing awareness of the major impact diet can have on the occurrence of cancer, and at a time when the evaluation of existing data was critical for developing approaches to a complicated and important area of cancer research. The participating scientists represented a variety of disciplines ranging from epidemiology to molecular biology and the papers cover a diversity of subjects to provide a valuable state-of-the-art review of this topic. The presentations give rise to a sense of cautious optimism that future productive research on the relationship between diet, nutrition and cancer is feasible, and could result in the development of useful strategies for cancer prevention.

The fourth annual American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) conference on diet, nutrition and cancer was held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D. C. , September 2~3, 1993. In keeping with present concerns and in line with current trends, the theme was "Diet and Breast Cancer. " This proceedings volume is comprised of chapters from the platform presentations of the two day conference and abstracts from the poster session held at the end of the first day. Experimentally, there is sufficient evidence to support a relationship between dietary fat and the risk of breast cancer. A meta-analysis was provided by data from 114 experiments with over 10,000 animals, divided into groups fed ad libitum on diets with different levels or sources of fat, or different levels of energy restriction. This exercise suggested that linoleic acid was a major determinant of mammary tumor development but that other fatty acids also enhanced mammary tumor development in animals. However, as mentioned by several speakers, results from epidemiological studies often are conflicting, thus leading to confusion among both health professionals and the public. Surveys of specific populations which have migrated from countries with low breast cancer rates to those with higher rates are often some of the most compelling studies with respect to a high fat diet-breast cancer association. Nonetheless, various cohort and prospective studies, some quite large, did not appear to show a relationship between consumption of fat (any type) and breast cancer.

The annual research conference for 1996 of the American Institute for Cancer Re search was again held at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC, August 29 and 30. The topic for this, the seventh in the series, was "Dietary Fat and Cancer: Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms. " Two separate presentations were given as the conference overview. "Fat and Cancer: The Epidemiologic Evidence in Perspective" noted that die tary fat can be saturated, largely from animal or dairy sources, or mono- or polyunsatu rated, mostly from plant sources. Unlike animal fats, fish contain relatively high levels of protective omega-3 fatty acids. Although the hypothesis that dietary fat is associated with cancer is plausible, the mechanisms involved are reasonable, and many animal studies support the hypothesis, there are many obstacles in any direct extrapolation to humans, in cluding imprecise measures of dietary fat intake, variability in individual diets, and spe cies variations. Despite these limitations, there is a weak positive correlation between colon cancer and dietary fat intake, but with substantial differences for various ethnic groups. In the case of breast cancer, there is substantial variation among countries and eth nic groups, but the overall evidence indicated an association with fat in the diet. Epidemiologic studies of dietary fat and prostate cancer are more consistent and most show a positive relationship. However, it was not clear which types of dietary fat were im plicated in the effect.