Day 254 - 22 May 96 - Page 68
1
2 Q. Apart from we have read the report, which was only based
3 upon what you already knew before you came to court last
4 time?
5 A. No.
6
7 Q. I am not criticising you.
8 A. No, no.
9
10 Q. No. It is not your fault?
11 A. I regularly go to meetings. These topics are discussed
12 at scientific meetings, frequently because it is obviously
13 something of great importance to the medical profession,
14 and what is quite clear is that there is more uncertainty
15 now than there was before.
16
17 Q. You are critical of animal experiments in your report, the
18 fallibility of animal experiments?
19 A. I mentioned that in my first report as well.
20
21 Q. Yes, I am trying to finish off before ----
22 A. No, no.
23
24 Q. And you look at the limitations of cohort studies; yes?
25 A. Yes.
26
27 Q. Which we have been through in some detail. And you look at
28 the limitations and are critical of epidemiological
29 studies; yes?
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is another shoddy bit you cannot make
32 some criticism of, and it just seems to me there is no kind
33 of study which just about everyone else does not make some
34 criticism of. That is one of the difficulties, it seems to
35 me, with enquiring into the causes of cancer at the
36 moment. Or is that just too simple an approach?
37 A. No, I think, as I said this morning, my Lord, if one is
38 trying to get scientific evidence to support a hypothesis
39 one likes to see consistency in the reporting of the
40 findings of these individual studies, be they animal case
41 control, cohort, et cetera. All I am saying is that as far
42 as the relationship between fat and cancers of the breast
43 and bowel are concerned there is a lack of consistency,
44 that has not been any ----
45
46 MR. MORRIS: Apart from in epidemiological studies and animal
47 experiments?
48 A. No, even with animal experiments, for example, the
49 studies have shown if you actually give the animals lots of
50 calories but have a low fat diet they will get breast
51 cancer more frequently than animals who have a high fat
52 intake but a relatively low ----
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let him finish. He is speaking.
55
56 Q. I asked about consistency, I did not ask about criticisms
57 of the methods used. The fact is it is considered that
58 animal experiments ----
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Before you ask any more let the witness
