Skip to content

Healthy Eating for Colon Cancer Prevention

A Mediterranean Diet in Colon Cancer Prevention

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00475722
Enrollment
120
Registered
2007-05-21
Start date
2007-05-31
Completion date
2011-12-31
Last updated
2016-09-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Colon Cancer

Keywords

cancer, colon, prevention, healthy eating, Mediterranean diet, PGE2, cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, Healthy People 2010 diet, dietary prevention of colon cancer

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to help develop diets for colon cancer prevention. This study will compare the Mediterranean diet to the Healthy People 2010 diet in 120 subjects with increased risk for colorectal cancer.

Detailed description

There is substantial epidemiological evidence that dietary patterns influence colorectal cancer risk. The associations of any particular nutrient with increased or decreased risks, however, may not be due to that nutrient per se but to the whole foods that are rich in that nutrient. Simultaneously, reducing intakes of foods associated with increased risk while increasing foods identified in preventive diets may be the best approach for prevention. The Cretan-Mediterranean diet in particular appears to hold great promise for cancer prevention. The major components of the traditional Cretan diet have been associated with decreased colon cancer. Relative to the American diet, this diet has lower n-6/n-3 and n-6/n-9 fatty acid ratios, lower polyunsaturated fatty acid intake, lower red meat intake, and higher intakes of plant-based foods and monounsaturated fatty acids. The hypothesis of this study is that adherence to a Mediterranean type of diet will result in a decrease in n-6 fatty acids and increased n-3 and n-9 fatty acids in human colorectal mucosa. This together with aspects of the diet such as increased intakes of fruits and vegetables, is expected to modulate eicosanoid metabolism and epithelial proliferation in normal mucosa. 120 persons, with an increased risk for colorectal cancer, will be randomized to a modified Mediterranean diet or a Healthy People 2010 diet for six months.

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL1 Healthy Eating

6 months telephone counseling

BEHAVIORAL2 Mediterranean

6 months telephone counseling

Sponsors

University of Michigan
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Prior adenomatous polyp. * Prior resected early (Dukes A, B, or C) colon cancer. With the exception of curative surgery for small lesions, such as endoscopically removed cancers, eligible subject will be at least two years post treatment for colorectal cancer. * A history of colon cancer in a primary relative or in two secondary relatives. * Good general health and not expecting major lifestyle changes in the next 6 months. * Age 21 or older. * Not expecting a change in hormonal therapies over the next 6 months. * Taking less than 81 mg/day or 325 mg aspirin every other day for prevention of cardiovascular disease. * Dietary intake that is within the usual range for a typical American diet. * Read and understand English. * Sign the consent and willing to comply with all study procedures. * Have a telephone. * At least 5 years post any type of treatment for any other cancer except cancers that were removed completely by surgery and no other treatment was undergone. * No more than occasional use (\< 25% of the time) of pain medications and willing to take only regular strength acetaminophen while on study except for 81 mg/day or 325 mg every other day of aspirin for prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Exclusion criteria

* On medically prescribed diets or following a diet that would require extensive counseling to correct nutritional deficiencies. * Taking supplements or medications that might obscure our ability to detect an effect of diet (eg. lipid-lowering medications, insulin, fish oils, mega-vitamins). * Are pregnant or lactating or planning to get pregnant. * Previous diagnosis of HIV or hepatitis C. * Have cancer at the present time. * Being treated with or taking therapies or supplements that could obscure our ability to detect diet effects, such as fish oils. * Previous advanced cancer (Duke's D) or hereditary and familial polyposis (HNPCC/FAP) because the latter are rare conditions with unique etiology. * Due to the effects of inflammation on biomarker levels in mucosa, persons with Crohn's disease or inflammatory bowel disease will be excluded. * Persons with BMI \< 18.5 or \> 35 kg/m2 since low BMI could indicate eating disorders and high BMI values, above the midpoint of the obesity range, could indicate more prevalent health problems and these persons can be more difficult to counsel. * Persons taking very high levels of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS) for conditions such as arthritis, a chronic inflammatory condition, will be excluded since it will preclude our ability to detect a further decrease in PGE2.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Adherence to Dietary Goals6 monthsPercentage of participants who met 70% of diet goals as outlined in the exchange list

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
1 Healthy Eating
Healthy People 2010 Diet using an exchange list 1 Healthy Eating: 6 months telephone counseling
61
2 Mediterranean
Mediterranean Diet using an exchange list 2 Mediterranean: 6 months telephone counseling
59
Total120

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyProtocol Violation30
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject1212

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic1 Healthy EatingTotal2 Mediterranean
Age, Continuous51 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13
53 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12
55 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 10
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
61 Participants119 Participants58 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
1 Participants1 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
2 Participants3 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
2 Participants8 Participants6 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
1 Participants1 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
55 Participants107 Participants52 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
61 participants120 participants59 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
43 Participants86 Participants43 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
18 Participants34 Participants16 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
15 / 6118 / 59
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 612 / 59

Outcome results

Primary

Adherence to Dietary Goals

Percentage of participants who met 70% of diet goals as outlined in the exchange list

Time frame: 6 months

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
1 Healthy EatingAdherence to Dietary Goals89 percentage of participants meeting goals
2 MediterraneanAdherence to Dietary Goals85 percentage of participants meeting goals

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026