Strawberries and Cancer

Strawberries may inhibit pre-cancerous esophageal lesion growth, study suggests. The Wall Street Journal (4/6, Dooren, Subscription Publication) reported that eating strawberries may halt the growth of precancerous lesions in the esophagus, according to findings presented Wednesday at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Florida. According to the Los Angeles Times (4/7, Cevallos) "Booster Shots" blog, noting that strawberries have "shown promise for inhibiting throat-tumor growth" in rats, researchers from Ohio State University asked "36 people at high risk for esophageal cancer to eat 60 grams (2 ounces) of freeze-dried strawberries every day for six months." They compared tissue samples from the esophagus "before and after" the six months, and found that in "29 people, precancerous lesions...were downgraded on a cancer scale." The Time (4/6, Park) "Healthland" blog noted that in esophageal cancer cases, about 50% of those with "moderate pre-cancerous" lesions and "25% of those with mild" lesions go on to develop malignant tumors, so "finding ways to halt their march can have a major impact on the incidence of the disease," lead researcher Tong Chen emphasized. She pointed out, however, that "gulping down pints of strawberries isn't the answer to fighting cancer. A larger, more rigorous trial that includes both people at risk of esophageal cancer and healthy, low-risk controls....needs to be conducted." The study was also covered by WebMD (4/6, Doheny).