Day 256 - 04 Jun 96 - Page 70


     
     1        and cancer, is there?
     2        A.  The reason for that is because the specific effect of
     3        fat.  Your hypothesis is incorrect.  You are starting out
     4        with the presumption that, for some reason, fat is
     5        basically causing all of these problems at the end of the
     6        road (cancer in this case) and all I am saying is that the
     7        effect of that is certainly there is a consensus that if it
     8        has any effect at all on any particular cancer for any
     9        individual it will increase cancer.  In other words, the
    10        way I just said it, there is a strong consensus for that.
    11        Where the disagreement comes in is:  How strong is the
    12        evidence?  How consistent is it and so forth and so on, but
    13        there is no dispute on the fact that if it has any effect
    14        at all, it will increase cancer.
    15
    16   Q.   Well then there may be not be very much between us.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No.  Unless I am completely losing my
    19        marbles, I thought that this cross-examination started from
    20        a statement which I noted, I do not suppose it is word
    21        accurate and I was trying to find it, but there was a
    22        general consensus of opinion that fat in diet is a cause of
    23        cancer. But  I thought a moment ago you were saying that it
    24        needed a lot of confidence to say that there was
    25        causality.  I have put this to you because I am anxious in
    26        case I have misunderstood your view.
    27        A.  Perhaps I am not saying it the right way.  I am not
    28        sure but I do not see anything inconsistent in what I am
    29        saying.  Adding fat to the diet under conditions where we
    30        are actually able to add it, independently of all the other
    31        conditions, in experimental animals at least increases
    32        cancer risk, period, and there are lots of mechanisms there
    33        to show how it is likely to work.
    34
    35        We then go to humans.  We see an association that we cannot
    36        decide whether it is causal or not, but we see the same
    37        mechanisms in existence.  We also see the association in
    38        expected direction.  What we cannot decide on in the
    39        scientific community is how strong is the association,
    40        whether it is consistent for every single person in the
    41        population, those sorts of issues, so suddenly the water
    42        becomes, I guess, a bit murky, if one wants to apply to
    43        every single individual in society.
    44
    45   MR. RAMPTON:  That is not quite the same, Professor, with
    46        respect, to what you said a moment ago which is something
    47        to this effect, that if there is a role for fat in relation
    48        to cancer, it is likely to be a causal role, which is
    49        rather different; is it not?
    50        A.  No.  I was simply saying that statement, I am not sure 
    51        I said exactly that, but when I said "that statement" that 
    52        way I was basically just trying to make a statement that 
    53        even the critics of the hypothesis might be willing to
    54        understand and accept.
    55
    56   Q.   Can we take one last look at this World Health Organisation
    57        Report and I want to do one last thing and I promise you
    58        will catch your plane tomorrow.  Over the page there is an
    59        entry under "Intakes of Saturated Fatty Acids" at 4.13; do
    60        you see that?

Prev Next Index