Recent advances have contributed to our understanding of how a
plant-based diet confers many health advantages and how substances from
plants may be effective in the prevention of specific cancers. The Ninth
Annual Research Conference of the American Institute for Cancer Research
has focused on the latest developments in several categories of
nutrients of wide contemporary interests. The conference sessions
included such topics as the effects of soy, green tea, selenium, wine,
grapes, and spices in cancer prevention. This conference was held in
Washington, D.C. on September 2nd and 3rd, 1999, and was entitled
Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: New Insights Into the Roles of
Phytochemicals.
The discussion program included a session that was devoted to the
current status of herbal products in relation to cancer prevention, in
recognition of the increasing attention that complementary and
alternative medicine has been receiving from the scientific community as
well as the general public. A separate presentation addressed the issue
of nutritional supplements and cancer prevention.