DR. RAUL ZAMORA-ROS, PhD. POSDOCTORAL FELLOW UNIT OF NUTRITION, ENVIRONMENT AND CANCER CATALAN INSTITUTE OF ONCOLOGY (ICO) – BELLVITGE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IDIBELL) BARCELONA, SPAIN MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zamora-Ros:  Our study shows that diets rich on flavonoids (polyphenols ubiquitously distributed in the plant kingdom, such as in fruit, vegetables, tea, wine and chocolate), particularly flavonols, are associated with less esophageal cancer risk, especially in current smokers. Tobacco smoking causes oxidative stress, and both oxidative stress and smoking tobacco are related to increased esophageal cancer risk. Therefore, our data suggest that the possible protective mechanism of dietary flavonoids may be related to their antioxidant properties, which may not be attributed to the direct antioxidant action, but to the ability to modulate antioxidant enzymatic pathways. (more…)