Does diet, physical activity, or weightcontrol have beneficial effects on cancer survival?

In the U.S., as of 2006, approximately 11,400,000 adults and childrenhad cancer, and that numberis expected to increase to nearly 17,000,000 by 2020.[1]

In an attempt to answer the above question as far as diet is concerned, and specifically about soy with its estrogen-like qualities, Shu et al[ 2] completed the ShanghaiBreast Cancer Survival Study; it was population-basedand involved 5042 breast cancer patients. They found that "soy foodconsumption was significantly associated with decreased riskof death and breast cancer recurrence, with adjusted 4-yearmortality rates of 10.3% and 7.4% and 4-year recurrence ratesof 11.2% and 8.0%, respectively, for women in the lowest andhighest quartiles of soy protein intake. This well-designedstudy has a number of strengths, including detailed data ontreatment, clinical characteristics, recurrence, vital status,and lifestyle habits, including diet."

References:

Ballard-Barbash R, Neuhouser ML.  "Challenges in Design and Interpretation of Observational Research on Health Behaviors and Cancer Survival." JAMA. Editorial. 2009;302(22):2483-2484.

1. Horner MJ, Ries LAG, Krapcho M; et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2006. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2009. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/. Accessed November 10, 2009.

2. Shu XO, Zheng Y, Cai H; et al. Soy food intake and breast cancer survival. JAMA. 2009;302(22):2437-2443