Day 036 - 13 Oct 94 - Page 16


     
     1        A.  I understand.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  We certainly disagree with that characterisation
     4        of what this case is about.
     5
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He is merely asking him to assume it for the
     7        purpose of the question.
     8
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  My purpose, Dr. Barnard, so that you should
    10        understand -- I hope you do -- is to establish merely this
    11        proposition, that it might not have been fair nor accurate
    12        in 1989 or even today to state as a fact that diet causes
    13        cancer.  That is all.
    14        A.  Thank you.
    15
    16   Q.   To which end one must, must one not, pay attention to the
    17        results of these prospective studies; one must, must one
    18        not?  One must not discard the prospective studies or the
    19        case-control studies or the epidemiologic studies?
    20        A.  One should consider them, but any sort of data that
    21        are elaborated from studies have to be interpreted quite
    22        carefully, and one simply does not add up those that have
    23        found associations and those that have not and simply
    24        weigh them on a scale; one could be misled in so doing.
    25
    26   Q.   I entirely agree with you, Dr. Barnard.  One has to look
    27        at the strengths and weaknesses not only of particular
    28        types of studies but of particular studies themselves, has
    29        one not?
    30        A.  Yes, certainly.
    31
    32   Q.   It is not, as you rightly say, a question of just throwing
    33        numbers of studies into one side of the scale and numbers
    34        into the other and see what you come out with.  Can I ask
    35        you to turn on to tab 24?
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think the reference to adjustments for
    38        accepted risks, if one looks at page 502 of our bundle
    39        467, they are the socioeconomic class, the obesity --
    40        I have used, perhaps, the less evident word "fatness" --
    41        over age at menopause, family history of breast cancer and
    42        over age at menarche.  So, I do not think there is
    43        anything which surprises -----
    44
    45   MR. RAMPTON:  That is what I took it to mean.  Can you turn to
    46        tab 24?
    47        A.  Can you let me know where that was on the page?
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If you look under "Results" -- you can get
    50        it from table 1 -- but if you look under "Results", 
    51        socioeconomic? 
    52        A.  I see. 
    53
    54   Q.   Upper quartile of fatness, over age at menopause, family
    55        history of breast cancer, over age at menarche.  They all
    56        show positive, as was no doubt expected, and allowance for
    57        that was made in pursuing their investigation.
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  That is what all the professional epidemiologists
    60        do, is it not?  They realise their figures may be

Prev Next Index