There are many factors that impact overall survival from a diagnosis of cancer. These include the type of cancer, the initial stage of the cancer, the success of the treatments, and other factors including diet and exercise. The question is often asked, “Is there a best diet for cancer survivors?”
The answer is a diet that does not promote inflammation in the body during long-term survivorship. In other words, a diet that is anti-inflammatory. Is there a way to identify an inflammatory diet? The answer is yes; it is called EDIP.
The Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern (EDIP) is a dietary index developed to measure the inflammatory potential of an individual’s overall diet based on food intake. It is derived empirically from statistical associations between food groups and circulating inflammatory biomarkers—specifically interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2).
Key features of EDIP:
- Developed using food-frequency questionnaire data and linked to inflammation markers in large cohort studies.
- Higher EDIP scores indicate a more proinflammatory diet, while lower scores indicate a more anti-inflammatory diet.
- Foods that increase inflammation (e.g., red and processed meats, refined grains, sugary beverages) receive positive weights.
- Foods that reduce inflammation (e.g., leafy green vegetables, whole grains, coffee, tea) receive negative weights.
EDIP is used in research to examine how diet-driven inflammation may contribute to the risk, progression, and outcomes of chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
At the recently held Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) there was an abstract presented that looked at the impact of an inflammatory diet on colon cancer survival. The title of the abstract was, “Association between empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP) and survival in patients with stage III colon cancer: Findings from CALGB/SWOG 80702 (Alliance).
EDIP scores, reflecting the inflammatory potential of diets, were calculated from food-frequency questionnaires completed shortly after diagnosis and over a year later. A total of 1,625 patients were analyzed.
Patients with the most proinflammatory diets (highest EDIP quintile) tended to be younger, more often female, non-White, and had worse ECOG performance status. There were no significant differences in aspirin use, chemotherapy duration, or celecoxib vs placebo assignment across EDIP quintiles.
The study found that patients with the highest EDIP quintile had significantly worse overall survival (OS) compared to those with the lowest quintile, though disease-free survival (DFS) was not significantly different.
Importantly, the study reported that physical activity appeared to moderate the impact of diet on survival. Patients with lower EDIP scores and higher physical activity had the best OS, highlighting a synergistic benefit. These findings support the importance of diet and exercise in improving survival outcomes in colon cancer patients.
So, in conclusion, the answer is YES! A low inflammatory diet should be consumed by all cancer survivors. The best results are combining an anti-inflammatory diet with moderate intensity exercise as an important approach to long-term survival.
Reference- https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/244419
