Cancer Prevention Blog

High blood pressure may be linked to brain cancer

Research funded by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has featured on Sky News and in several national newspapers after a possible link between high-blood pressure and brain cancer was discovered.

Head of Education Kate Mendoza gave interviews for Sky and the study was the subject of stories in the Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard, among others.

Kate told Sky viewers how the research – by scientists in Austria, Sweden and Norway – reinforced the … Continue Reading

Does how you cook red meat affect prostate cancer risk?

A new study has suggested that having a lot of well-done or grilled red meat may increase risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

It was covered in the media at the end of last week, and one of our scientists was quoted in the Daily Mail’s article about it.

So does this study mean that well-done meat really does increase risk of aggressive forms of prostate cancer?

The short answer is that, based on this study … Continue Reading

Can walking prevent cancer?

Deciding to walk instead of taking public transport might be something people do to save money, but it could also be helping to prevent cancer.

This is because there is strong scientific evidence that being regularly physically active reduces risk of breast cancer, bowel cancer and cancer of the endometrium (womb lining), as well as helping to maintain a healthy weight, which is also important for cancer prevention.

Sometimes, people think that being regularly physically active … Continue Reading

Newspapers: accurately reporting cancer risk?

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that misrepresentative reporting of health issues is one of our major bugbears. Unfortunately the phenomenon is so widespread in British newspapers that it is impossible for us to comment on every single example.

However, the article on page 9 of today’s Daily Mail illustrates perfectly how the media, and in particular the press, distorts scientific reviews and studies to generate scare headlines.

The story reports a small review … Continue Reading

Red meat: a cancer risk factor?

The Daily Mail published an article on Saturday about a new review of the evidence on red meat and health.

The Mail tells us that the review finds that “after years of worrying that tucking into red meat could lead to a heart attack or cancer, you can relax and enjoy the Sunday roast”.

So does this new review mean that World Cancer Research Fund’s cancer prevention recommendation to limit … Continue Reading

Fruits and vegetables: probably reduce cancer risk

You may have seen an article in the Daily Mail about a new book by Zoe Harcombe on the obesity epidemic.

The article runs through Zoe’s ‘myth-busting’ conclusions.

Looking at her overall message, Zoe basically disagrees with the advice you would get from mainstream health organisations. The result of this is that people are likely to become confused.

This is why it’s unhelpful for this sort of advice to be … Continue Reading

Alcohol: a bowel cancer risk factor

There is coverage in the media today about a new study in the British Medical Journal, the study suggests that people can reduce their risk of developing bowel cancer by 23% by making lifestyle changes.

Our response to the study is included in the Daily Mail article.

These are interesting findings and when you consider that about 38,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, they … Continue Reading

WCRF in the news

Ahead of World Cancer Research Fund’s scientific conference tomorrow, we’ve issued a press release about the challenge of cancer prevention.

Today it has been covered by the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and The Sun, as well as lots of regional newspapers.

It has also been covered by the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express websites.

Hopefully, it will help raise awareness of the issue.

Scientists estimate the global number of cancer … Continue Reading

Wine: a cause of breast cancer?

Those of you who read the Daily Mail may have seen an article today ‘One daily glass of wine can double risk of breast cancer‘ .

The study from the United States found that one or more drinks a day doubled the risk of lobular breast cancer. This type of breast cancer accounts for about 10 to 15 per cent of breast cancer cases.

The article also included a quote from me. At WCRF we feel it … Continue Reading

Newspapers: raising awareness of breast cancer risk

Following our press release yesterday about how UK breast cancer rates are four times higher than those in Eastern Africa, the Daily Mail has published a feature on what increases breast cancer risk.

Last week, this blog highlighted the example of My Weekly magazine’s piece on how to “cancer-proof your life” as an example of the media covering cancer prevention in a way that … Continue Reading