Day 022 - 12 Sep 94 - Page 54


     
     1        A.  I have to take the responsible position of looking
     2        dispassionately at all the evidence, both for and against,
     3        fat being implicated in the causation of cancer.
     4
     5   Q.   You are a scientist, so you have to be -----
     6        A.  But I have to advise patients and, you know, one has
     7        to be very clear about making sure that you are actually
     8        advising people about doing the right thing.  My argument
     9        is that, at the moment, there may be some suggestive
    10        evidence one way or the another, but we have not the
    11        scientific evidence to show that there is a definite
    12        relationship between fat intake and breast cancer or bowel
    13        cancer.
    14
    15   Q.   You could say "X caused Y".
    16        A.  Yes, like cigarette smoking -- you see, with cigarette
    17        smoking the studies have consistently shown this
    18        relationship.   You very rarely get lung cancer of certain
    19        types which we know to be related to cigarette smoking in
    20        people who are non-smokers.
    21
    22   Q.   A good example could be -- if I just refer quickly to
    23        another report; we will just go through a few reports.  It
    24        is No. 60 in the Defendants' Nutrition file.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Bundle III.
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:  Bundle III, blue.  You can keep that other file on
    29        the table.  We will probably come back to it.  I have not
    30        got this in any particularly sensible order.
    31        A.  It is file No. 3.
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No. 3, yes.  If Mr. Morris gives you the
    34        Defendants' document number, you will see on the spine it
    35        has which documents are covered.  He wants No. 60.
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  It is No. 60.
    38        A.  Is that "Childhood and Recent Eating Patterns"?
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  "Childhood and Recent Eating Patterns and
    41        Risk of Breast Cancer", Hislop and Others, 1986.  They did
    42        a case control study of 846 cases and 862 controls
    43        returning questionnaires.
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  This is 1986?
    46
    47   MR. MORRIS:  1986.  The introduction starts off:  "There is
    48        increasing evidence that diet is an important cause of
    49        breast cancer".  They use the word "cause" there.  Is
    50        Hislop a well-respected epidemiologist? 
    51        A.  He is not somebody that I know, I am afraid. 
    52 
    53   Q.   If you turn over the next page, the last page before the
    54        references of that, their conclusion -- it is internal
    55        page 56 -- is:  "We conclude that diet is associated with
    56        breast cancer, especially in premenopausal women.  Food
    57        with high fat content increases the risk of breast
    58        cancer."   They are making quite clear links there, are
    59        they not?
    60        A.  They are, but my criticism is if you look at the

Prev Next Index