2015/16 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

FOOD3340 Food and Cancer

10 creditsClass Size: 150

Module manager: Professor M Morgan
Email: m.r.a.morgan@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2015/16

Pre-requisite qualifications

Passes at 1st and 2nd year level in suitable biological science.

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

- What is cancer and the mechanisms of cancer? - How do environmental factors affect cancer risk? - Can food components cause cancers? - Can food components protect against cancers? - What is the evidence for the role of food components in causing or protecting against cancers? - Can meat in the diet cause cancer?- What is the evidence that Brassicas, garlic, onions, tea, soya, fruit and vegetables offer protection against cancers? - Is 5 a day the way forward for protection and health?If you have an interest in diet, nutrition and health then Food and Cancer is an essential module. Note that you must have passed level 2 of a biological science degree programme to be eligible for this module.This 10 credit module is taught by a series of lectures throughout semester 1.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- understand the central role of the diet in non-smoking related cancer, both in causative and protective roles
- understand the contributions of different forms of evidence (eg epidemiology, in vitro studies and mechanistic studies) and understand the basis of current dietary advice with regard to cancer prevention
- link nutritional information with in vivo biochemistry, and be able to differentiate between unbased claims, hypotheses and experimentally validated conclusions.

Syllabus

- What is cancer?
- The normal and cancerous cell
- Diet and cancer - causative and protective activity
- Mechanisms of carcinogenesis
- The contribution of genetic factors and the environment
- Epidemiology, food and cancer
- Genetics, food and cancer
- Dietary carcinogens
- Aflatoxins
- Dioxins/PCBs
- Regulations
- The evidence for and against meat as a carcinogen
- The role of p53 protein
- Defence mechanisms against cancer
- Direct and indirect antioxidant activity
- Nutrients and protective factors
- The Antioxidant Hypothesis - an examination of experimental evidence
- Dietary agents protective against cancer
- Dietary fibre
- Brassicas, glucosinolates and cancer
- Onions and garlic and cancer
- Soya, phytoestrogens and cancer
- Tea, catechins and flavonoids and protection against cancer
- The role of supplements
- Is 5 a day the way forward?

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	20	1.00	20.00
Private study hours			80.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Private study

- Private study and examination preparation: 54 hours
- Directed reading (compulsory examination question): 10 hours
- Directed reading: 16 hours.

Methods of assessment

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr 00 mins	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 18/09/2017

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