The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) sponsored its second annual conference on nutrition and cancer. The theme was "Exercise, Calories, Fat, and Cancer" and the conference was held September 4-5, 1991 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City, Virginia. This proceedings volume contains chapters from the platform presentations and abstracts from each poster presentation. Relationships among physical activity, calorie consumption, energy expenditure, dietary fat, and cancer are described in the context of epidemiologic, animal, and in vitro studies. Dietary recommendations to lower cancer risk are based on expanding evidence relating nutrition and cancer. Identification of the precise dietary contribution to disease is complicated by the concurrent genetic and environmental contributions, in addition to the inherent difficulties in gathering and interpreting epidemiologic data. Individual variations in cancer risk are the result of differences in genetic and environmental factors including sources and amounts of calories consumed, metabolism, and energy expenditure. Human and animal studies describing independent and combined influences of exercise, calorie restriction, and dietary fat on carcinogenesis are reported in this volume.

Avoiding overweight and obesity is the best-established diet-related risk factor for cancer. The proportion of people who are overweight/obese is increasing, and the amount of physical activity is decreasing in most populations, including urban populations in many developing countries. The increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity is presumably due to the increasing availability of highly palatable, high-energy foods, and an increasing sedentary lifestyle due to mechanisation of both workplace and leisure activities. Overweight/obesity and reduced physical activity increases the risk of cancers in various organs. Maintaining a healthy body weight and regular physical activity is the second most important way to prevent cancer, after tobacco control. The suggestions of possible public health actions to tackle these risk factors include the promotion of balanced diets, which are not excessive in energy, and broad education and planning to enable and encourage physical activity during work and leisure. Recommendations and a full discussion of these topics are included in the sixth volume in this series of Handbooks.

Never before has a book so clearly detailed how exercise can reduce the risk for and recurrence of breast cancer, and how women can incorporate a safe and effective exercise program into their lives to fight against the disease. In clear, accessible language, the expert authors explain: *How to ascertain your breast cancer risk factors *What you can do NOW to prevent Breast Cancer *Detailed diet and exercise programs that will keep you healthy and can save your life *How to detect breast cancer early *Your best lifestyle choices for surviving--and thriving--after diagnosis, and practical steps to maximize your chances of the cancer never coming back. Want to prevent breast cancer or keep it from coming back? With Breast Fitness, Dr. Anne McTiernan, Dr. Julie Gralow, and Dr. Lisa Talbott present the only comprehensive, illustrated guide to the new-found connection between exercise and fighting breast cancer, and what you can do to maximize your chances of living your life breast cancer-free.

Nutrition and Health: Topics and Controversies explores in detail the relationship between diet, nutritional status, and disease, and evaluates nutritional practices intended to minimize the incidence of and slow the progress of major chronic illnesses. National trends in nutritional awareness and the resulting changes in consumer behavior are discussed. Unlike other books on this subject, the authors take a stand on controversial issues in the field and document their positions with scientific data. Nutrients such as calcium, vitamin E, selenium, and antioxidants, their importance in overall nutrition, and their role in specific diseases are covered. Expertise in nutritional science is not required to gain the highly practical information in this book.

Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment contains articles that were presented by leading researchers and physicians in the field of nutritional oncology. Most of the previous conference proceedings on Nutrition and Cancer have dealt primarily with the issue of the role of nutrients in cancer prevention. This is logical because enormous quantities of laboratory and epi demiologic data have been published on the topic. Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment also contains several studies on the role of diet and vitamins in cancer treat ment. There are very few books that have reviewed laboratory and clinical studies and the role of vitamins in cancer treatment. There are preliminary data suggesting that daily supplementa tion with high doses of certain vitamins in combination with conventional therapeutic agents may enhance their growth inhibitory effects on tumor cells, and may protect normal tissues against some of their toxic effects. This book is unique in the sense that several articles have discussed the mechanisms of action of individual vitamins on cellular and molecular parameters. It is very exciting to note that some of the vitamins inhibit protein kinase C activity, increase the production of certain growth factors, and modulate the expression of a number of oncogenes. These studies, at least in part, offer rationales for the cancer protective effects of vitamins.