A dozen apples a day will likely not banish cancer risk away

Just in: An analysis by Paolo Boffetta et al., (Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Overall Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition) concludes that there is "a very small inverse association between intake of total fruits and vegetables and cancer risk." The study used data from over 142,000 men and 335,000 women who had a high intake of fruits and vegetables.

Apparently, this mega prospective analysis supports the findings of previous studies:

In an accompanying editorial, Walter C. Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health, notes that "this study strongly confirms" the findings of other prospective studies that high intake of fruits and vegetables has little or no effect in reducing the incidence of cancer, although it has been shown to affect the risk of cardiovascular disease.

That last point has to be emphasized. Just because eating more fruits and vegies has negligible impact on cancer risk doesn't necessarily imply it's worthless or doesn't have significant consequences for other conditions.