Kimchi and Cancer by Dr. Joseph C. Kim

Identification of major dietary patterns in Korean adults and their association with cancer risk in the Cancer Screening Examination Cohort. Cancer is the primary cause of disease-related death in Korea. The purposes of this study were to confirm the major dietary patterns and to evaluate whether there were associations between these identified dietary patterns and the risk of cancer based on data from the Cancer Screening Examination Cohort (CSEC) 2004-2008 of the National Cancer Center (NCC) of Korea. This study included 8 024 subjects who completed a written survey on demographics and lifestyles, as well as a 3-day dietary record. Dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis using the principal component analysis method. The associations between the identified dietary patterns and cancer risk were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression models. During a median follow-up period of 9.0 years, 425 cancer cases were newly diagnosed. We identified 4 majo

It's interesting to see how coffee used to be considered a carcinogen by the WHO. Recently, the WHO changed its position on coffee as a potential carcinogen. In fact, recent medical research seems to suggest that coffee has different protective effects. Coffee may prevent diabetes. Some research suggests that coffee may even prevent cancer. Is coffee now a health food? The debate on kimchi will probably never end. Research will show that kimchi prevents cancer while other research will prove that kimchi causes cancer. Maybe we will discover that there are too many variables for us to understand until we can link epigenetics into all this research. Then, we will know that kimchi may cause cancer in some individuals while it may prevent cancer in other individuals.

Surprisingly, there are no recent articles on PubMed if you search for "kimchi and cancer" from 2015.

Does kimchi cause cancer or does kimchi prevent cancer? Maybe it depends on the type of cancer. Maybe it depends on the person. Let's ask Shin-Hye Kwak, Young-Mi Cho, Geon-Min Noh, and Ae-Son Om. Cancer Preventive Potential of Kimchi Lactic Acid Bacteria (Weissella cibaria, Lactobacillus plantarum). J Cancer Prev. 2014 Dec;19(4):253-8. doi: 10.15430/JCP.2014.19.4.253. Epub 2014 Dec 30. The number of death due to cancer has been increasing in Korea. Chemotherapy is known to cause side effects because it damages not only cancerous cells but healthy cells. Recently, attention has focused on food-derived chemopreventive and anti-tumor agents or formulations with fewer side effects. Kimchi, most popular and widely consumed in Korea, contains high levels of lactic acid bacteria and has been shown to possess chemopreventive effects. This review focuses on Weissella cibaria and Lactobacillus plantarum, the representatives of kimchi lactic acid bacteria, in terms of their abilities to

Cancer cells can be detected in the blood as circulating tumor cells. Author Eric T Kimchi and others report on their findings in Cancer Biol Ther. 2015 Mar 25:0. Kaifi JT1, Kunkel M, Das A, Harouaka RA, Dicker DT, Li G, Zhu J, Clawson GA, Yang Z, Reed MF, Gusani NJ, Kimchi ET, Staveley-O'Carroll KF, Zheng SY, El-Deiry WS. Circulating tumor cell isolation during resection of colorectal cancer lung and liver metastases: a prospective trial with different detection techniques. ABSTRACT Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasectomy improves survival, however most patient develop recurrences. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are an independent prognostic marker in stage IV CRC. We hypothesized that CTCs can be enriched during metastasectomy applying different isolation techniques. Methods: 25 CRC patients undergoing liver (16 (64%)) or lung (9 (36%)) metastasectomy were prospectively enrolled (clinicaltrial.gov identifier: NCT01722903). Central venous (liver) or radial ar

Koreans have a higher risk for certain cancers. Why? Maybe it's the kimchi. Many studies have found links between diet and cancer. The summary estimates of the association between dietary factors and cancer risk were investigated using previously reported studies of the Korean population. Gastric cancer risk was inversely associated with the high intake of soy foods [OR (95% CI): 0.32 (0.25-0.40) for soybean, 0.56 (0.45-0.71) for soybean curd, and 0.67 (0.46-0.98) for soymilk], allium vegetables [OR (95% CI): 0.37 (0.26-0.53) for green onion, 0.54 (0.40-0.73) for garlic, and 0.54 (0.35-0.85) for onion], fruits [OR (95% CI): 0.61 (0.42-0.88)], and mushrooms [OR (95% CI): 0.43 (0.21-0.88)]. Salt and Kimchi were associated with an increased gastric cancer risk [OR (95% CI): 1.92 (1.52-2.43) and 2.21 (1.29-3.77), respectively]. Colorectal cancer risk was positively associated with meat intake [OR (95% CI): 1.25 (1.15-1.36)]. Total soy products, soybean curd, and soymilk showed an inve