Genetic Trait Could Predict Lung Cancer(tables can help current and former smoke...),Health

Those who ate the most raw cruciferous vegetables (at least 4.5 servings per month) had a lower risk of lung cancer than those who ate less than 2.5 servings a month. Comparing the two groups after controlling for other factors, the rates were 20 percent to 55 percent lower in the first group, depending on the types of vegetable eaten and the duration and intensity of smoking, said Dr. Li Tang, a researcher at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

Other research has linked the vegetables to lower rates of bladder cancer, Tang said. The vegetables appear to produce reactions in the body that help prevent cancer.

"Quitting smoking is the best thing to do to reduce risk, but there are things, like increasing intake of vegetables, that may also reduce your risk," Tang said.

More information

Learn more about lung cancer from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

SOURCES: Emily A. Vucic, graduate student, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, B.C.; Li Tang, M.D., Ph.D., researchers, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, N.Y.; Nov. 18, 2008, presentation, American Association for Research's Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research conference, Washington, D.C.