High Fiber diet and regulation of oncogenes - Research Paper Example

Statistics reflecting the estimated cases of cancer and deaths caused by cancer in the United States have also been taken into account, so as to further strengthen the relevance of the topic. Oncogenes are proto-oncogenes turned bad -- genes that have undergone mutations (American Cancer Society, 2011); mutations are changes in the makeup of a gene’s building blocks, DNA (American Cancer Society, 2011). According to the theory of gene mutation, carcinogen interaction with deoxyribonucleic acid leads to irrevocable genetic changes (Devi, 2005, p. 18). Even a minute alteration in the arrangement of these building blocks can create a strong negative impact (American Cancer Society, 2011).

Normally, proto-oncogenes are responsible for the encoding of proteins, which promote cell division and impede cell differentiation (Chial, 2008). On the other hand, these mutated proto-oncogenes “typically exhibit increased production of these proteins, thus leading to increased cell division, decreased cell differentiation, and inhibition of cell death” (Chial, 2008). The aforementioned process leads to cancer (Chial, 2008); hence, there is a need to regulate these oncogenes. A “diet high in fiber” is made known to have a considerable impact in the shrinking of predisposition to “colorectal cancer” (Doheny, 2011).

Doll and Peto were the first to highlight the existence of a link between diet composition and cancer -- an example of which is high-fiber diet and its effectivity in chemoprevention (as cited in Devi, 2005, p. 21). Carcinogenesis begins with initiation as normal genes are exposed to carcinogens (Devi, 2005, p. 16). After which, promotion follows -- a stage wherein the gene is repeatedly exposed to stimuli (Devi, 2005, p. 17). Thereafter, progression occurs; this is the proliferation of the mutated gene (Devi, 2005, p. 17). Devi