ABSTRACT
Diet may play a role in carcinogenesis directly because of the presence of carcinogens or certain protective factors or through indirect effects such as under or over nutrition. Although there is good agreement that diet is directly involved in the process of carcinogenesis, quantification of the causal relationship between diet and cancer risk remains unclear (Miller, 1980; Henderson et al, 1991). In particular, questions are still open whether cancer risk is due to specific food items, to nutritional components (lipids, vitamins, etc) or, more generally, to a complex of dietary habits, with a higher intake of calories and an increase of body weight.
