Module code & title FOOD3341: Food and Cancer
Assignment title Feasibility report – using dietary compounds to reduce cancer burden.
Assignment type Coursework. Non-timed assignment; you have one attempt.
Learning outcomes assessed
1. Develop knowledge and understanding of the biological mechanisms of cancer and how food can alter these
2. Understand how agencies, charities and/or government organisations evaluate evidence to provide advice on food and cancer to the general public.
3. Be able to evaluate health claims and advice for the general population, stratified groups, and for people living with and beyond cancer.
Rationale
The purpose of this report is to assess your ability to critically evaluate the evidence for and against, and understand the barriers and opportunities of, using nutritional compounds for cancer prevention/treatment.
Word/time limit and guidance
In this report you should select a food compound from the options below (Assignment Guidance – 2). Evaluate the evidence that a commercially available nutritional supplement of this compound could be used to reduce cancer burden and discuss the feasibility of implementing this strategy as a public health initiative. Structure your report as outlined below (Assignment Guidance – 3).
You must state your final word count on the title page. The report should be comprehensive and concise and must be between 1400-1600 words. Reports longer than this range will be penalised with a 5% mark reduction and any text beyond 1600 words will not be considered in marking. Reports shorter than 1400 words will not be additionally penalized but are unlikely to contain sufficient material to achieve good grades.
Word count does not include title, bibliography, figure, figure legends, text in tables, table legends.
Word count does include main text, inline citations, headings and subheadings.
Bibliography of at least 10 references but no more than 30. You must use Leeds-Harvard referencing style. and you must use reference management software (e.g. Endnote). You must state which reference manager you have used at the end of the bibliography.
The following is a suggested structure with suggested word count ranges for each section in brackets: Background (300- 500), Main body of report (900-1100), Conclusion (200-300).
Assignment guidance
1. Title page(s) should contain
a. A title of your choice, it should be an informative and succinct .
b. Word count of final report (not including bibliography or figure legends).
c. All required declarations.
A penalty of 5% applies if any of this information is omitted.
2. You must select one (1) of the following compounds only: a phytosterol (e.g. sitosterol), resveratrol, Vitamin D, or omega-3 fatty acids.
3. The report must include the following:
a. An introduction to include a description of cancer burden, the supplement you have chosen to evaluate.
b. A definition of key terminology you will use in the report, i.e. how you define ‘cancer burden’ will determine the information required in your report.
c. An explanation of the molecular mechanisms of action of how your chosen food component acts to reduce cancer burden.
d. An overview of the evidence in humans that your chosen food component is likely to reduce cancer burden.
e. A description of the evidence gap that means the compound is not yet part of public health advice.
f. At least one original figure and at least one original table.
4. Guidance notes:
The following sections must be included in the report and should be preceded by appropriate subheading/titles:
a. An explanation of the molecular mechanisms of action of how your chosen food acts to reduce cancer burden. What genes, proteins, lipids, cellular structures are directly altered by the food compound? In which cells do these events occur? Do the anti-cancer effects directly affect the cancer cell, or do they work indirectly, via the immune system for example? Are the Hallmarks of Cancer altered, how?
b. An overview of the evidence in humans to indicate that your chosen supplement is likely to reduce cancer burden. Your report may consider population stratification (i.e. if the agent acts against prostate cancer, then it is only targeted at males). You may want to consider whether the intervention is cost-effective, who would benefit most, how could you ensure a wide population is reached.
c. A description of what is the evidence gap that means the compound is not yet part of public health advice. Consider the level of evidence that is required by national agencies or charities before they promote a food derived compound in public health messaging or publish a position statement. Compare this to the existing evidence.
d. At least one original figure and at least one original table. The figure should be
drawn based on information collated across lectures and your own research into the food compound. This could be to summarise the molecular pathways of action, and/or illustrate the information gaps, and/or be derived from data collated from published sources. Attribute credit to the original sources of the information you collate into your original figure. The table should collate data from multiple sources and could for example contain a summary of how your food compound has changed the expression of a particular gene, or report summary statistics from different human studies.
Figures and figure legends should be prepared in a separate file and converted into an image and inserted into the word document. Embed the figure as a high-quality image to your .docx file. Figures should be placed in the text at the first opportunity after their first mention in the report. The software used to draw figure(s) should be stated in the figure legend(s).