Varied fruit reduces lung cancer risk

GRANADA, Spain, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- To reduce the risk of lung cancer, people should not only eat fruits and vegetables daily, but also increase the variety, researchers in Spain say.

Study co-author Maria Jose Sanchez Perez, director of the Granada Cancer Registry at the Andalusian School of Public Health, says the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study involved 10 European countries -- Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden -- and some 500,000 people.

The study found greater variety in fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lower risk of developing epidermoid carcinoma of the lung -- with an additional two units of fruit and vegetable consumption leading to a 9-percent reduction in risk. The effect was more pronounced among smokers -- the risk fell by 12 percent.

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.