Diet, natural products and cancer chemoprevention.

There is considerable scientific evidence to suggest that nutritive and nonnutritive plant-based dietary factors can inhibit the process of carcinogenesis effectively. Cancer chemoprevention involves pharmacologic intervention with synthetic or naturally occurring chemicals to prevent, inhibit or reverse carcinogenesis or prevent the development of invasive cancer. In light of the considerable effort that has been expended by scientists from the academic, governmental and private sectors in identifying, characterizing and utilizing potential cancer chemopreventive agents, it is reasonable to inquire about the progress that has been made to date and the promise that this field holds in the fight against cancer. The symposium entitled Diet, Natural Products and Cancer Chemoprevention: Progress and Promise was therefore organized at Experimental Biology 99 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences to address in part these two issues. Progress in the development of cancer chemopreventive agents, examples of current clinical and experimental research of particular relevance to cancer prevention and the promise of chemoprevention in effectively contributing to the conquest of cancer were highlighted.