Shaping the Future of Nutrition in Cancer Prevention

Abstract: Sarah Abe is Manager for Healthcare Services at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and Visiting Scientist at the National Cancer Center Japan. She manages the Medical Excellence in Asia initiative and co-leads the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) evaluation of prevention recommendations in Asia. Her research focus is on cancer lifestyle risk factors especially diet in Japan and Asia. Sarah Abe has a Ph.D. in International Health from the University of Tokyo. 

Advancing Nutrition‑Based Cancer Prevention in Germany: From Evidence to Scalable Action

Despite clear dietary guidelines, substantial gaps persist in fibre, fruit and vegetable intake, and red and processed meat consumption, contributing significantly to the cancer burden in Germany. This presentation outlines a research programme to develop a suite of evidence‑based, culturally adapted, and cost‑effective nutrition interventions to reduce cancer risk across diverse population groups. The proposed research programme integrates four pillars: characterising dietary patterns and inequities; testing and adapting nutrition interventions across settings and population groups; modelling the health and economic benefits of dietary improvements; and engaging stakeholders to ensure relevance, feasibility, and policy alignment. Using mixed methods, epidemiological analyses, intervention studies, and economic modelling, the programme will identify effective and scalable strategies to promote plant‑forward diets and reduce modifiable cancer risk factors. The session will highlight expected findings, methodological innovation, and opportunities to inform national and international prevention efforts within Germany, across Europe, and across the global.

A Planetary Health Approach to Nutrition in Cancer Prevention: From Evidence to Impact

Despite growing epidemiological evidence, the population-level impact of nutrition in cancer prevention remains limited. Current research indicates that healthy and sustainable dietary patterns offer substantial co-benefits for cancer prevention and environmental sustainability, yet effective translation into everyday settings is lacking. This talk outlines a strategic framework integrating evidence synthesis, implementation research in real-world environments, and cross-sector stakeholder engagement in a planetary health approach, illustrating how a dedicated vision can strengthen nutrition-related prevention pathways and enhance societal impact within a comprehensive and future-oriented cancer prevention strategy.

Nutrition in Cancer Prevention: Integrating Population Evidence, Mechanisms, and Scalable Implementation

Effective cancer prevention through nutrition requires an integrated framework that connects population-level evidence, mechanistic insight, and scalable implementation. As prevention strategies move upstream and food systems undergo structural transformation, this creates a strategic opportunity for DKFZ to establish nutrition as a central pillar of cancer prevention research and national prevention architecture. 

Over the past decade, my research has focused on elucidating how dietary patterns and nutrient-related exposures shape cancer risk across the life course, integrating largescale cohort analyses with biomarker-informed epidemiology and mechanistically grounded dietary metrics. This work links sustainable, health-promoting dietary patterns to biological pathways relevant to carcinogenesis, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic regulation. 

The Division of Nutrition in Cancer Prevention will be structured around three integrated components: (i) population and data science to identify modifiable determinants and define cancer-relevant dietary standards; (ii) mechanistic and translational systems research within the Viessmann Laboratory for Sustainable Healthy Nutrition to experimentally validate preventive strategies and accelerate translation into practice; and (iii) intervention, implementation and policy-oriented research targeting children, adolescents, and vulnerable populations, with particular attention to behavioral, social, and structural determinants of dietary behavior. 

Aligned with DKFZ’s translational mandate and embedded within the National Cancer Prevention Center, the division will generate robust evidence, define standards, and actively contribute to national prevention strategies. By aligning biological rigor with scalable implementation, it will establish DKFZ as a European reference center for nutrition-based cancer prevention.

Nutrition in Cancer Prevention: Closing the Implementation Gap

The risk of cancer and other chronic diseases is strongly influenced by our diets, as is the sustainability of our food system. Yet putting this knowledge into practice remains one of public health's most persistent failures. A vast implementation gap exists on all levels – from individual diets to everyday food environments to national policy. My research addresses this gap directly. Rather than asking whether dietary interventions work under ideal conditions, I examine why they succeed or fail in the social, economic, and political environments in which they must ultimately operate. I focus on policy domains with proven potential for population-level impact, including school nutrition, food marketing regulation, and fiscal instruments such as taxes and subsidies. I use quasi-experimental policy evaluations, qualitative and mixed-methods research on implementation and public debate, geospatial analysis of food environments, and evidence synthesis to generate evidence that is both scientifically robust and politically actionable. A recurring finding from this work is that intervention effectiveness and political feasibility are deeply intertwined: Design choices made early in policy development are scrutinized in public and political debate and often determine whether interventions are implemented sustainably and at scale. Advancing cancer prevention through nutrition therefore requires close integration of effectiveness research and implementation science. In my talk, I will illustrate this approach with examples from my current work. Building on this, I will outline a roadmap and vision for establishing the Division of Nutrition in Cancer Prevention and the Viessmann Laboratory for Healthy Sustainable Nutrition at the DKFZ as drivers of progress in closing the implementation gap in nutrition for cancer prevention.