Impact of dietary patterns and the main food groups on mortality and recurrence in cancer survivors

This systematic review investigated whether there is an association between dietary patterns prior to or after cancer diagnosis and mortality and cancer recurrence in cancer survivors. Survivors of 11 different common cancers with a 10 year survival rate of over 50% were included. 38 studies were included in the review, consisting of both RCTs and cohort studies. Results show that reducing the amount of fat after diagnosis appears to decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Furthermore, adherence to a high-quality diet after diagnosis appears to decrease the risk of death from other causes in breast cancer survivors. Consuming a western diet before and after diagnosis appears to increase the risk of overall mortality and death from other causes among breast cancer survivors. Evidence from studies investigating other cancers was to limited or could not be identified. Further large and well-conducted RCTs are needed to clarify whether dietary patterns and food intake could influence the health outcomes of cancer survivors. Read the full article