ABSTRACT
Cancer and obesity affect millions of people across the world. The role of obesity in cancer has come to the forefront over the past few decades. Epidemiologic studies have shown that obesity increases cancer incidence and worsens outcomes. There are many possibly underlying mechanisms that may explain why the obese state is favorable to cancer initiation and progression that include increases in local and systemic inflammation, alterations in available fuels, and underlying behaviors or genetics that put patients at risk of both diseases. In fact, some obesity-related conditions are causal for certain cancers. There is data that various diet interventions are helpful in preventing tumor initiation, growth, and metastasis. This chapter will focus on the data of dietary intervention impacts on the efficacy of treatment. Overall, diet interventions show increased efficacy or decreased side effects of chemotherapy. However, with a number of preclinical studies but only a handful of data in humans, more work needs to be done to determine which intervention is best and in which cases.
