Raw fish may cut cancer risk

A diet rich in raw or fresh fish could protect smokers against lung cancer, research from Japan suggests. The study was undertakin in an effort to understand why lung cancer rates in Japan are lower than in other countries such as the UK, despite the fact that smoking rates are the same if not higher. Scientists at the Cancer Centre Hospital​ in Aichi, Japan, looked at the diets of more than 4,000 healthy people, and another 1,000 with lung cancer. They found that men and women who ate "large" amounts of fresh fish were significantly less likely to develop lung cancer. A diet which included salted or dried fish in place of fresh fish did not confer the same protective qualities, researchers found. Lead researcher Professor Toshiro Takezaki, who led the study, said:"Japanese people love their fresh fish, particularly sushi. We think that is why, even though the Japanese smoke as much as people in the UK, their rate of lung cancer is only two-thirds as high."​ There are several different types of lung cancer, and the protective fish effect appeared to be the strongest for a type called adenocarcinoma - about 5 per cent of all cases. Fresh fish eaters appeared to halve their risk ofdeveloping this type. Source:BBC​