However colon cancer survivors who ate plenty of fruits, vegetables, poultry, and fish were able to avoid recurrence of the cancer. Colon cancer or colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 112,340 new cases of colon cancer and 41,420 new cases of rectal cancer in 2007 and these will cause about 52,180 deaths in the country. Early diagnosis is the key to increased survival rate from the cancer.

However the risk of relapse is always high with colorectal cancer. Consuming a western diet rich in meats and fats is always thought to be a risk factor in the development of colon cancer. But this is the first study to link it to a higher risk of colon cancer relapse.

The study involved 1,009 patients treated with both surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer. All patients were diagnosed as having stage III colon cancer. This means the cancer had spread from the colon to adjacent lymph nodes, but had not traversed to distant organs like the lung.

These patients were participating in an adjuvant chemotherapy trial from April 1999 through May 2001. The patients were asked to fill up a "semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire" in order to identify the diet they followed during and six months after receiving chemotherapy. The U.S. National Cancer Institute and Pfizer Oncology partially funded this study.

The researchers followed up on the patients for a period of five years. Based on the answers given in the food questionnaire, they identified patients who followed a typical Western diet rich in meat, fat, French fries, refined grains, and desserts. The other group of patients followed a typically "prudent" diet consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Among the colon cancer patients:
* 324 patients had a cancer recurrence
* 223 patients had died because of the colon cancer relapse
* The death of 28 patients could not be linked to colon cancer recurrence

When compared with cancer patients who consumed a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with minimum processed foods, those who ate Western diet had thrice the risk of colon cancer relapse or even death.

Researchers said that patients who consumed Western diet high in fats even after treatment might have followed the same dietary pattern before they had the primary colon cancer and might simply have continued following the same.

Additionally the increasing intake of processed meats even after cancer treatment may in fact increase the risk of cancer relapse and its spread, the researchers theorize in a report in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Even when researchers took into consideration factors like age, sex, BMI, physical activity, nodal stage of the cancer or the treatment given, there was no difference in the influence exerted by Western diet on cancer recurrence.

However the dietary patterns did not influence the extent of the colon cancer. For example they had no say in the level to which the cancer had penetrated into the bowel wall.

“Because this was an observational study, causality cannot and should not be drawn from these data,” lead author Dr. Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt and colleagues wrote. “Nonetheless, [they] suggest that a diet characterized by higher intakes of red and processed meats, sweets, and desserts, French fries, and refined grains increases the risk of cancer recurrence and decreases survival.”

Meyerhardt explained that a typically Western diet high in fats affects insulin levels and insulin-like growth factors, both of which are responsible for promoting the growth of cancer. However he admitted that the study was observational in nature and more research was needed to confirm the findings.

According to the American Cancer Society, the following are the risk factors for developing colon cancer:
* Age over 50.
* History of colorectal cancer, bowel disease or colon polyps.
* Family history of colorectal cancer
* Consuming high fat or Western type of diet
* Lack of exercise
* Smoking, Diabetes and alcohol consumption
* Overweight and obesity

The ACS says that people can lower their risk of getting colorectal cancer by taking charge of the risk factors that they can control, such as diet and exercise. It is important to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods and to limit intake of high-fat foods.

The American Cancer Society recommends at least 30 minutes of physical activity on 5 or more days of the week. Forty-five to 60 minutes of exercise on 5 or more days of the week is even better. Many studies suggest that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements might lower the risk of colorectal cancer.

However as the above study indicates, one must always avoid a high-fat diet and stick to healthy diet and consume plenty of fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer in the first place and then the risk of its relapse.