com dated July 21, 2003 entitled Pizza Prevents Cancer, points out some interesting theories. The article is written by Jeanie Lerche Davis whom interviews Silvano Gallus, PhD. Dr. Gallus, an epidemiologist from Milan, Italy and his colleagues sifted through diet surveys completed by 598 cancer patients and 4,999 people without cancer. A few of the questions on the diet survey pertained to pizza consumption in which Dr. Gallus bases his theories upon. The first question on the survey was, "Do you eat less than one slice of pizza per month?" (non-eaters) , the second, "Do you eat 1-3 slices of pizza per month?" (occasional eaters) and the third, "Do you eat a slice or more per week?" (regular eaters).
Dr. Gallus's studies based upon the survey revealed that regular pizza eaters had 34% less risk of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer, 59% less risk of esophageal cancer, and 25% less risk of colon cancer. He also noted that it reduced the risk of rectal and laryngeal cancer as well.
Dr. Gallus points out that Italian pizza is less than 50% crust, 20% tomato sauce, 20% mozzarella cheese, and 4% olive oil. He also points out that there is a specific compound in cooked tomatoes that is protective in the incidence of cancer, as well as the monounsaturated fats in olive oil that help prevent cancer.
A comment in which I agree with is made by Dr. Maria Yaramus, a clinical coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. "Pizza protective against cancer? Take it with a grain of salt," says Dr. Yaramus. The fact of the matter is, as the article states, there are so many different types of pizza, so many ways of making pizza, and so many different ingredients. Another source of error is the survey that wasn't even originally Dr Gallus's study. This study doesn't represent a large population of people as well does as it does not represent age-specific or age adjusted demographics.
