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Authors: T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell
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that), and yet they were the ones getting liver cancer!
How could this be? Worldwide, liver cancer rates were highest in
countries with the lowest average protein intake. It was therefore widely
believed that this cancer was the result of a deficiency in protein. Fur-
ther, the deficiency problem was a major reason we were working in the
Philippines: to increase the consumption of protein by as many mal-
n o u r i s h e d children as possible. But now Dr. Caedo and his colleagues
were telling me that the most protein-rich children had the highest rates
of liver cancer. This seemed strange to me, at first, but over time my
own information increasingly confirmed their observations.
At that time, a research paper from India surfaced in an obscure med-
ical journal. 13 It was an experiment involving liver cancer and protein
consumption in two groups of laboratory rats. One group was given AF
and then fed diets containing 20% protein. The second group was given
the same level of AF and then fed diets containing only 5% protein.
37
A HOUSE OF PROTEINS
Every single rat fed 20% protein got liver cancer or its precursor lesions,
but not a single animal fed a 5% protein diet got liver cancer or its pre-
c u r s o r lesions. It was not a trivial difference; it was 100% versus 0%.
This was very much consistent with my observations for the Philippine
children. Those who were most vulnerable to liver cancer were those
who consumed diets higher in protein.
No one seemed to accept the report from India . On a flight from De-
troit after returning from a presentation at a conference, I traveled with
a former but much senior colleague of mine from MIT, Professor Paul
Newberne. At the time, Newberne was one of the only people who had
given much thought to the role of nutrition in the development of can-
cer. I told him about my impressions in the Philippines and the paper
from India. He summarily dismissed the paper by saying, "They must
have gotten the numbers on the animal cages reversed. In no way could
a high-protein diet increase the development of cancer. "
I realized that I had encountered a provocative idea that stimulated
disbelief, even the ire of fellow colleagues. Should I take seriously the
observation that protein increased cancer development and run the risk
of being thought a fool? Or should I turn my back on this story?
In some ways it seemed that this moment in my career had been fore-
s h a d o w e d by events in my personal life. When I was five years old, my
aunt who was living with us was dying of cancer. On several occasions
my uncle took my brother Jack and me to see his wife in the hospital.
Although I was too young to understand everything that was happen-
ing, I do remember being struck by the big " C ' word: cancer. I would
think, "When I get big, I want to find a cure for cancer. "
Many years later, just a few years after getting married, at about the
time when I was starting my work in the Philippines, my wife's mother
was dying of colon cancer at the young age of fifty-one. At that time, I
was becoming aware of a possible diet-cancer connection in our early
research. Her case was particularly difficult because she did not receive
appropriate medical care due to the fact that she did not have health
insurance. My wife Karen was her only daughter and they had a very
close relationship. These difficult experiences were making my career
choice easy: I would go wherever our research led me to help get a bet-
ter understanding of this horrific disease.
Looking back on it, this was the beginning of my career focus on diet
and cancer. The moment of deciding to investigate protein and cancer
was the turning point. If I wanted to stay with this story, there was only
38 THE CHINA STUDY
one solution: start doing fundamental laboratory research to see not only
if, but also how, consuming more protein leads to more cancer. That's
exactly what I did. It took me farther than I had ever imagined. The
How could this be? Worldwide, liver cancer rates were highest in
countries with the lowest average protein intake. It was therefore widely
believed that this cancer was the result of a deficiency in protein. Fur-
ther, the deficiency problem was a major reason we were working in the
Philippines: to increase the consumption of protein by as many mal-
n o u r i s h e d children as possible. But now Dr. Caedo and his colleagues
were telling me that the most protein-rich children had the highest rates
of liver cancer. This seemed strange to me, at first, but over time my
own information increasingly confirmed their observations.
At that time, a research paper from India surfaced in an obscure med-
ical journal. 13 It was an experiment involving liver cancer and protein
consumption in two groups of laboratory rats. One group was given AF
and then fed diets containing 20% protein. The second group was given
the same level of AF and then fed diets containing only 5% protein.
37
A HOUSE OF PROTEINS
Every single rat fed 20% protein got liver cancer or its precursor lesions,
but not a single animal fed a 5% protein diet got liver cancer or its pre-
c u r s o r lesions. It was not a trivial difference; it was 100% versus 0%.
This was very much consistent with my observations for the Philippine
children. Those who were most vulnerable to liver cancer were those
who consumed diets higher in protein.
No one seemed to accept the report from India . On a flight from De-
troit after returning from a presentation at a conference, I traveled with
a former but much senior colleague of mine from MIT, Professor Paul
Newberne. At the time, Newberne was one of the only people who had
given much thought to the role of nutrition in the development of can-
cer. I told him about my impressions in the Philippines and the paper
from India. He summarily dismissed the paper by saying, "They must
have gotten the numbers on the animal cages reversed. In no way could
a high-protein diet increase the development of cancer. "
I realized that I had encountered a provocative idea that stimulated
disbelief, even the ire of fellow colleagues. Should I take seriously the
observation that protein increased cancer development and run the risk
of being thought a fool? Or should I turn my back on this story?
In some ways it seemed that this moment in my career had been fore-
s h a d o w e d by events in my personal life. When I was five years old, my
aunt who was living with us was dying of cancer. On several occasions
my uncle took my brother Jack and me to see his wife in the hospital.
Although I was too young to understand everything that was happen-
ing, I do remember being struck by the big " C ' word: cancer. I would
think, "When I get big, I want to find a cure for cancer. "
Many years later, just a few years after getting married, at about the
time when I was starting my work in the Philippines, my wife's mother
was dying of colon cancer at the young age of fifty-one. At that time, I
was becoming aware of a possible diet-cancer connection in our early
research. Her case was particularly difficult because she did not receive
appropriate medical care due to the fact that she did not have health
insurance. My wife Karen was her only daughter and they had a very
close relationship. These difficult experiences were making my career
choice easy: I would go wherever our research led me to help get a bet-
ter understanding of this horrific disease.
Looking back on it, this was the beginning of my career focus on diet
and cancer. The moment of deciding to investigate protein and cancer
was the turning point. If I wanted to stay with this story, there was only
38 THE CHINA STUDY
one solution: start doing fundamental laboratory research to see not only
if, but also how, consuming more protein leads to more cancer. That's
exactly what I did. It took me farther than I had ever imagined. The
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