Healthy diet after head, neck cancer diagnosis may boost survival

Healthy diet after head, neck cancer diagnosis may boost survival
Healthy diet after head, neck cancer diagnosis may boost survival

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head or neck were 93% less likely to die of any cause during the first three years after diagnosis if they ate a healthy diet high in nutrients found to deter chronic disease, researchers found in a recent study.

The eating habits of the patients with the best survival rates aligned with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010, a measure of dietary quality that rates foods based on their disease-fighting properties. The plan is associated with lower risk of chronic diseases, said first author Christian A. Maino Vieytes, a predoctoral fellow in nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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