Day 035 - 12 Oct 94 - Page 60
1 conclusion that Dr. Greenwald and some others have made
2 regarding that material.
3
4 Q. That is rather different. Those are comments, I take it,
5 specifically on the eight-year follow up of the American
6 Nurses Health Study; is that right?
7 A. Dr. Willett has published other reports in that same
8 area prior to that time.
9
10 Q. His latest report on American nurses was in 1992, was it
11 not?
12 A. The eight-year follow up was the one that has gotten
13 the most attention.
14
15 Q. It got a lot of publicity because, in effect, it showed no
16 relationship, in fact, an inverse relationship with the
17 intake of dietary fat, did it not, can be linked with
18 breast cancer?
19 A. Within the narrow band he looked at, he found no
20 significant relationship.
21
22 Q. Those who do not like his results say: "Well, the trouble
23 is he did not look at people consuming quantities less
24 than about 24 per cent"?
25 A. I do not criticise his study. I think it was an
26 interesting study that asked an extremely narrow question
27 and was, therefore, unable to give a useful answer, but it
28 certainly asked that question. The question was: Within a
29 very narrow band over a short period of time do natural
30 fluctuations in fat intake have a meaningful effect on
31 breast cancer? The answer was: You could not detect it
32 using his method. That is meaningful but it does not
33 answer our question here.
34
35 Q. Let us leave Dr. Willett whom you regard -- I do not mean
36 this offensively to Dr. Willett or to you -- as something
37 of a maverick and move on to a body who I do not know what
38 status you think it has -- it is the National Academy of
39 Sciences; this again is an American body, not a British
40 one. Again in 1989. My Lord, this is another document
41 which, in fact, nobody has got except me.
42
43 The reason for that is that it was mentioned by Dr. Cannon
44 in his evidence. Dr. Cannon did not have any copies of it
45 with him. They were not part of his references.
46 I managed to persuade Professor Wheelock to find it and to
47 provide us with copies. Having said that, the selection
48 which has been made of the pages is not mine; it is
49 Professor Wheelock's.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is this actually on Mr. Geoffrey Cannon's
52 list?
53
54 MR. RAMPTON: No, it is not.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is it referred to?
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: It was referred to in his evidence-in-chief. He
59 mentions one National Academy of Science Report. This one
60 is for 1989. There is one copy each for the Defendants.
