Diet and Risk of Colorectal Carcinoma-A Review

Colorectal Carcinoma is an important public health problem with an estimated total of 9,44,717 incident cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed world wide in the year 2000. About 36 per cent of new cases of colorectal cancer occur in the rapidly ageing population of non-industrialised countries. Though diet has emerged as one of the most plausible etiologic factors, the precise role of dietary factors, the precise role of dietary factors in colorectal cancer remains controversial even today. Recent observational studies have failed to demonstrate a definite positive association with dietary fat, particularly animal fat and meat. Clearly, there is some more work required to throw light on the nutritional epidemiology of colorectal cancer.