The Salgi Esophageal Cancer Research Foundation

Preliminary research shows hope in the use of freeze-dried strawberries to help in the prevention of esophageal cancer.

The research study was led last year by Tong Chen, MD, PhD, researcher and assistant professor at the Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Results were presented to the American Association for Cancer Research and the study was funded by the California Strawberry Commission.

Chen said: “eating strawberries may be a way for people at high risk for esophageal cancer to protect themselves from the disease.”

The team of researchers and Chen launched a study where 36 men and women who had precancerous esophageal lesions were given freeze-dried strawberries.

This study followed the success of an animal study conducted which showed positive results in strawberries fighting esophageal cancer.

For six consecutive months, the study participants ate 60 grams of the freeze-dried strawberries. Out of 36 participants, 29 showed a significantly slower growth of the precancerous lesions of the esophagus.

Due to the fact that the study is “phase one” without a control group, Dr. Fritz Francois said: “it is therefore premature and in fact not possible to tell whether or not the observed effects were by chance alone and would have happened regardless of what the patients were given, such as sugar pills.” Dr. Francois is assistant professor of Medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center.

However, experts agree that the findings are extremely encouraging and insist for more further studies to determine if strawberries or other fruits and vegetables are suitable means for cancer prevention and treatment.

“This may be an attractive approach to chemoprevention drugs alone or in conjunction, since many of these medications have side effects or it may not be possible for the patient to take them in large enough doses to confer a benefit,” said Francois.

ABC Video: Strawberries may prevent esophageal cancer

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 3:32 pm and is filed under The Salgi Foundation - Esophageal Cancer Awareness, Early Detection & Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.