WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD April 6, 2011 -- Eating
freeze-dried strawberries may help prevent esophageal cancer,
according to new but preliminary research. ''Eating strawberries
may be a way for people at high risk for esophageal cancer to
protect themselves from the disease," says researcher Tong Chen,
MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at The Ohio State
University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus. She presented
the results of her small study at the American Association for
Cancer Research meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study was funded by
the California Strawberry Commission. After an animal study
showed strawberries might have some cancer-fighting benefits for
esophageal cancer, Chen decided to study their effect in people.
She evaluated the use of freeze-dried strawberries in 36 men and
women who had precancerous lesions of the esophagus. Their
average age was about 54. All were at high risk for cancer of
the esophagus, the tube that connects the throat to the stomach.
It allows food