Our Research
If you are interested in learning more about upcoming
studies on diet and exercise in cancer prevention and control,
please call 858-822-6790.Enrollment Open
DIBS (Diet Intervention in Bladder Cancer Study)
HELP (Healthy Eating & Living Program for Weight Control)On-Going Research (Enrollment Now Closed)
AACT (Activity After Breast, Colon, or Rectal Cancer Trial)
CHANGE (Customized Healthy Approach to Nutrition, Goal-Setting, & Exercise) Weight Loss Studies
WHEL Study (Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study)—Breast Cancer SurvivorsCompleted Studies
ACS/UCSD Telephone Counseling Study (Healthy Eating Program Pilot)
Adenomatous Polyp Prevention: Lifestyle and Eating (APPLE)
FAB Weight Loss Study (FAB = Food, Attitude, Body)
Low Glycemic Load Diet and Breast Health Study
MEAL Pilot Study (Men’s Eating and Living Study)—Prostate Cancer Survivors—A followup study is planned to begin in early 2010
Orexigen Weight Loss Study
SHAPE (Survivors’ Health and Physical Exercise Study)
UCSD/Avon Foundation Telephone Counseling Study (Healthy Eating Program Pilot)Services Available to Researchers
Nutrition Shared Resource (Dietary Assessment & Counseling Services, Nutritional Biomarker Analysis)
UCSD Dietary Supplement DatabaseEnrollment Open
Diet Intervention in Bladder Cancer Study (DIBS) top
A pilot study to determine whether a telephone-based dietary counseling intervention will increase cruciferous vegetable intake in patients with superficial bladder cancer. Men and women 18 years of age or over who have been diagnosed with bladder cancer in the past 48 months, who are not taking warfarin to thin the blood, and who can tolerate a high-fiber diet are encouraged to call 858-822-6790 for more information.
Healthy Eating & Living Program for Weight Control (HELP Pilot Trial)
HELP is a pilot trial to test a 12-week internet-enhanced diet and physical activity intervention among overweight and obese women who have one or more risk factors for breast cancer. Eligible women must be between the ages of 45 and 70 years, want to increase their physical activity and improve their diet, and also have regular access to high-speed internet. Those randomly assigned to the intervention will receive personalized counseling over the telephone and via the internet and cell phone, along with educational print materials. Those randomized to the comparison group will receive educational print materials only. Call 858-822-2895 for more information. HELP Study participants can login here for study-related materials.
On-Going Research (Enrollment Now Closed)
Activity After Breast, Colon, or Rectal Cancer Trial (AACT) top
A pilot study to see if telephone counseling can increase physical activity levels in patients who have recently (within the past 12 months) finished treatment for breast cancer or cancer of the colon or rectum.
CHANGE (Customized Healthy Approach to Nutrition, Goal-Setting, & Exercise) Weight Loss Studies top
These studies (CHANGE 102, 102E, and 104) were designed to test the effectiveness of a telephone-administered diet and exercise intervention on weight loss in obese males and females in the placebo arms of three separate clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of injectable weight loss drug regimens. All three trials involve participants recruited from multiple (18-42) sites across the country. A total of 684 participants were enrolled into CHANGE 102, 274 into CHANGE 102E, and 281 into CHANGE 104. All of these studies are now closed, but data analysis is on-going.
WHEL Study (Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study) top
This study followed 3,088 breast cancer survivors for 6-11 years. Participants were recruited between 1995 and 2000 from Arizona, California, Oregon, and Texas. The women were randomly assigned to one of two healthy diet groups. Key findings to date include:
- 5-7 servings/day of vegetables and fruits plus 30 minutes/day moderate exercise reduced mortality by 50%. More information here.
- Eating more than 7 servings/day of vegetables and fruits did not reduce recurrence or mortality. View the News Release and the Video.
- Women with higher serum carotenoids (indicating more colorful vegetables/fruits) had lower recurrence rates. More information here.
- Higher concentration of bioavailable estrogen contributes to risk for recurrence, and a high-fiber, low-fat diet intervention is associated with reduced serum bioavailable estrogen concentration. For more information on WHEL publications to date, click here.
Completed Studies
ACS/UCSD Telephone Counseling Study (Healthy Eating Program Pilot) top
The objective of this study was to adapt the highly successful WHEL Study counseling program, so that American Cancer Society (ACS) volunteers could use it to provide dietary counseling to callers to the ACS toll-free helpline. Funded by the American Cancer Society, nearly 700 men and women participated in this study between 2002 and 2005. Preliminary results of data from the pilot phase of this study is here.
FAB Weight Loss Study (FAB = Food, Attitude, Body) top
This multi-center randomized clinical trial was designed to test whether participation in a multifaceted commercial weight loss program is associated with a greater degree of weight loss over a 24-month period, compared to usual care in 400 women across four study sites. A total of 110 women who were overweight or obese participated in this study at the UCSD site.
Low Glycemic Load Diet and Breast Health Study top
This pilot study assessed the feasibility of a randomized trial to promote long-term adaptation of a low glycemic load diet among women at high risk for breast cancer. 50 subjects from the Buffalo, NY, area have been recruited and consented by Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The dietary assessment and counseling intervention are handled through UCSD by telephone from the Nutritional Services Shared Resource at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center (link to description of Shared Resource).
MEAL Pilot Study (Men’s Eating and Living Study) top
The MEAL Study was a multi-site pilot trial investigating whether our innovative telephone counseling program could help men previously treated for localized, low-risk prostate cancer adopt a cancer-preventive diet. The study enrolled 74 men 50-80 years of age who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer within the previous 48 months. For more information on MEAL publications to date, click here. A followup study is planned to begin in early 2010.
UCSD/Avon Foundation Telephone Counseling Study (Healthy Eating Program Pilot) top
This study provided breast cancer risk assessments to women between the ages of 25 and 70 years, along with education about lowering their breast cancer risk (including modifying their diet). One of the objectives of the study was to determine whether this risk assessment and education motivated women to participate in a healthy eating program. Funded by the Avon Foundation, nearly 180 women participated in this study between 2002 and 2004. Preliminary results of data from the pilot phase of this study is here.
Adenomatous Polyp Prevention: Lifestyle and Eating (APPLE) Study top
This randomized clinical feasibility trial investigated the effect of a high-vegetable, high-fiber, high-calcium diet on the risk of developing colon cancer after polyp removal. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and involved 100 male and female participants.
Orexigen Weight Loss Study top
This randomized clinical trial was designed to examine how much more effective an investigational new drug treatment to promote weight loss can be when combined with a comprehensive lifestyle modification program in helping people lose weight and keep it off. 130 obese individuals (18-63 years of age) who were in otherwise good health were recruited to participate in this study in San Diego.
SHAPE (Survivors’ Health and Physical Exercise Study) top
This study tested whether a multifaceted approach can achieve weight loss and maintenance in overweight or obese breast cancer survivors in a randomized clinical trial. 253 women previously diagnosed and treated for early stage breast cancer participated in this study.
Services Available to Researchers
In addition to dietary counseling, the Cancer Prevention and Control Program provides dietary assessment, and biochemical laboratory analysis services to other researchers through our Nutrition Shared Resource. Through this Resource, researchers are able to access the UCSD Dietary Supplement Database, which was developed and is maintained by our staff. This supplement database is one of the most extensive and detailed in the country with content data on over 9,000 formulations. By linking our dietary assessment software with the Supplement Database, we are able to provide researchers with detailed data on nutrient intake from dietary and supplement sources both separately and together, as well as descriptive data on types of supplements used (including herbals and botanicals).
