Expert Science Report – assembling & analysing the evidence

From the early 1980’s the WCRF global network has been committed to the prevention of cancer. Global migrant studies from the mid 20th century showed a significant relationship between “environment” and occurrence of cancer and pointed to nutrition as playing a key role – a conclusion reached by renowned scientists, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Richard Peto of Oxford University, who highlighted the link between nutrition and cancer prevention. After many years of promoting the information from these early studies to the science community, to encourage further research in the area, and to the general public for educational purposes, the WCRF global network published their first landmark Expert Report, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, in 1997. The Report not only gave future directions for research but also gave recommendations on how cancer risk is affected by the choices we make as individuals every day. This Report established that the way we live our lives has a big impact on cancer risk and was a catalyst for change that inspired eight to ten times as much scientific research in this field over the next decade.

By 2002, it was clear that there was so much new evidence on the link between nutrition and cancer risk that a new Report was needed. To this end, WCRF International instigated and co-ordinated the six-year process of compiling the scientific data to publish the Second Expert Report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, launched globally in November 2007.

The Second Expert Report is the most comprehensive and authoritative resource ever published on the links between food, nutrition, physical activity and cancer prevention and, after scanning the available research data of 500,000 studies, it is based on the in-depth analysis of over 7,000 of the most relevant and important scientific studies published on cancer prevention over the last 50 years. Under my Chairmanship, the panel of 21 world-renowned international scientists reviewed the research evidence, drew conclusions and developed ten recommendations for cancer prevention. Together these comprise a blueprint people can follow to help reduce their risk of developing cancer.

The WCRF Expert Report has been supported by many of the local cancer societies throughout the world, and by The World Health Organization. Much of this support was in the form of advisors, peer reviewers or observers to the process of putting this Report together.

Expert Policy Report – A call for Action

In addition to the two Expert Science Reports, in February 2009, the WCRF global network published Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, a companion publication to the Second Expert Report compiled by the same panel with three additional experts, again under my Chairmanship. This Report addresses why people practise particular eating and physical activity habits over a lifetime. The Policy Report sets out recommendations for the role of nine stakeholder groups across society in reducing future cancer risk. These are policy-makers and decision-makers at all levels, from global and national to local, in all sectors of society. The WCRF global network would like to see all stakeholders implementing the Policy Report Recommendations as part of a coordinated and collaborative approach to cancer. To help facilitate this, the WCRF global network is working with key stakeholders in each local network country.

In addition to the recommendations to stakeholders, the Policy Report also contains new estimates on how much cancer might be prevented through improved patterns of nutrition, body weight and physical activity. These show that in high income countries about a third of the most common cancers and in low and middle income countries about a quarter, could be prevented by eating healthily, staying lean and being physically active.

The WCRF global network communicates this vital message to the public, to health professionals and to scientists worldwide, and provides the tools to help people, whatever their background, make choices to help reduce their chances of developing cancer.

Following the launch of the Second Expert Science Report, the WCRF global network has an on-going commitment to keep this information current through the Continuous Update Project. This will ensure that the recommendations for Cancer Prevention remain based on the most up-to-date evidence available.

It has been a privilege for me to work on these important projects which bring us steps closer to preventing more cases of cancer.

Sir Michael Marmot 
MB BS MPH PhD FRCP FFPH
 (Chair, Policy Report panel)
University College London,
UK
Chair, Expert Report and Policy Report Panel