Ed Campbell pointed this out to some of us in email recently and I pulled
it out of Medline, thinking it may be of some interest.  I haven't read
more than this abstract but it certainly is interesting.

Title

Food groups and risk of colorectal cancer in Italy.

Author

Franceschi S; Favero A; La Vecchia C; Negri E; Conti E; Montella M;
Giacosa A; Nanni O; Decarli A

Address

Servizio di Epidemiologia, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano
(PN), Italy. [log in to unmask]

Source

Int J Cancer, 1997 Jul 3, 72:1, 56-61

Abstract

The proportion of colorectal cancer attributed to dietary habits is
high, but several inconsistencies remain, especially with respect to the
influence of some food groups. To further elucidate the role of dietary
habits, 1,225 subjects with cancer of the colon, 728 with cancer of the
rectum and 4,154 controls, hospitalized with acute non-neoplastic
diseases, were interviewed between 1992 and 1996 in 6 different Italian
areas. The validated food-frequency questionnaire included 79 questions
on food items and recipes, categorised into 16 food groups. After
allowance for non-dietary confounding factors and total energy intake,
significant trends of increasing risk of colorectal cancer with
increasing intake emerged for bread and cereal dishes (odds ratio [OR]
in highest vs. lowest quintile = 1.7), potatoes (OR = 1.2), cakes and
desserts (OR = 1.1), and refined sugar (OR = 1.4). Intakes of fish (OR =
0.7), raw and cooked vegetables (OR = 0.6 for both) and fruit other than
citrus fruit (OR = 0.7) showed a negative association with risk.
Consumption of eggs and meat (white, red or processed meats) seemed
uninfluential. Most findings were similar for colon and rectum, but some
negative associations (i.e., coffee and tea, and fish) appeared stronger
for colon cancer. Our findings lead us to reconsider the role of starchy
foods and refined sugar in light of recent knowledge on the digestive
physiology of carbohydrates and the insulin/colon cancer hypothesis. The
beneficial role of most vegetables is confirmed, with more than 20%
reduction in risk of colorectal cancer from the addition of one daily
serving.

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Franceschi's group is the one that published a study last year finding a
correlation between high starch intake and breast cancer (see Franceschi S
et. al. Intake of macronutrients and risk of breast cancer. Lancet;
347(9012):1351-6 1996)