Prevention

An obvious starting point for cancer prevention is avoidance of environmental agents that contribute to carcinogenesis.

The role of diet in cancer prevention is controversial. Epidemologic evidence suggests a particularly strong link between a high-fat, high-calorie, low-fiber diet and an increased risk of colon cancer. But a change to a low-fat, low-calorie, high-fiber diet may not alter the risk. The addition to the diet of carotenoids, selenium, vitamins A, D, and E, and some short-chain fatty acids may prevent cancers in high-risk populations, but there is no evidence that any dietary supplement will prevent cancer. See also Nutrition.

There are a variety of clinical settings in which surgery may prevent cancer. For example, surgical removal of the thyroid will prevent medullary carcinoma in individuals with certain types of multiple endocrine neoplasia, breast removal can be preventive in familial breast cancer, and removal of the ovaries can prevent cancer in familial ovarian cancer.