Healthy eating index and ovarian cancer risk

The evidence for a role of diet on ovarian cancer prevention remains inconclusive. While many studies have evaluated individual foods and food groups, the evaluation of a comprehensive dietary quality index for predicting cancer risk has received little attention. This study investigates the association between the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which reflects adherence to the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and ovarian cancer risk in a population-based case–control study in New Jersey. A total of 205 cases and 390 controls completed the Block 98.2 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in addition to reporting on potential risk factors for ovarian cancer. FFQ data were then utilized to calculate the HEI score, and cup, ounce, gram, or caloric equivalents for the 12 different food groups comprising the index. In multivariate models, the OR for the highest tertile of the HEI score compared with the lowest (reflecting a better diet compared with a worse diet) was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.55–1.47). There was limited evidence for a statistically significant association between any of the 12 individual food components and ovarian cancer risk. Based on this study’s results, neither individual food groups nor dietary quality showed potential for preventing ovarian cancer.     

Association between Healthy Eating Index-2015 and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study

Objective: Diet quality is known to influence cancer risk. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is one of the most frequently used measures of diet quality. However, the association between HEI-2015 and breast cancer risk is not known. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the association between HEI-2015 and breast cancer risk. Methods: A case-control study comprising 134 breast cancer patients and 265 cancer-free controls were conducted. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), from which the HEI-2015 score was calculated. Logistic regression was used to derive the odds ratios (ORs) for measuring the association between HEI-2015 scores and breast cancer risk. Results: Subjects in the top quartile of HEI-2015 had a 46% lower chance of breast cancer compared with subjects in the bottom quartile (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.30, 0.98). After adjustment for potential confounders such as age, age at menarche, oral contraceptive drug use, menopausal status, marital status, body mass index, smoking and education level, the association between HEI-2015 score and a lower risk of breast cancer was enhanced (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.16, 0.65). Conclusion: We successfully demonstrated that a higher HEI-2015 score was associated with a reduced breast cancer risk.     

Dietary Patterns and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies (2000-2011)

Objectives: This systematic review of cohort studies aimed to identify any association between specific dietarypatterns and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Dietary patterns involve complex interactions of food and nutrientssummarizing the total diet or key aspects of the diet for a population under study. Methods and materials: Thisreview involves 6 cohort studies of dietary patterns and their association with colorectal cancer. An exploratoryor a posteriori approach and a hypothesis-oriented or a priori approach were employed to identify dietarypatterns. Results: The dietary pattern identified to be protective against CRC was healthy, prudent, fruits andvegetables, fat reduced/diet foods, vegetables/fish/poultry, fruit/wholegrain/dairy, healthy eating index 2005,alternate healthy eating index, Mediterranean score and recommended food score. An elevated risk of CRC wasassociated with Western diet, pork processed meat, potatoes, traditional meat eating, and refined grain pattern.Conclusion: The Western dietary pattern which mainly consists of red and processed meat and refined grainsis associated with an elevated risk of development of CRC. Protective factors against CRC include a healthy orprudent diet, consisting of vegetables, fruits, fish and poultry.     

Adherence to the dietary guidelines for Americans and endometrial cancer risk

The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was developed by the US Department of Agriculture with the goal of quantifying adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the HEI-2005 score and each of its components on endometrial cancer risk in a population-based case–control study in New Jersey. A total of 424 cases and 398 controls completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire, which was used to derive the HEI-2005 score. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression while adjusting for potential covariates, which included all major endometrial cancer risk factors. The adjusted OR for women in the highest quartile when compared to the lowest quartile was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.52–1.34). For the meat and beans component comprising meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and beans, the OR was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.45–1.11; p for trend: 0.07), with little evidence of an association with any of the individual foods. There was no indication of an association for any of the other components of the HEI or of effect modification by body mass index. This study suggested limited value for the HEI-2005 in predicting endometrial cancer risk.     

An estrogen‐associated dietary pattern and breast cancer risk in the Swedish Mammography Cohort

High endogenous hormone levels have been associated with breast cancer and dietary factors have the potential to influence breast cancer risk through effects on hormone levels. Dietary patterns derived from reduced rank regression provide a way to identify food groups correlated with hormones and subsequently examine food patterns that may be associated with breast cancer risk. We investigated whether a dietary pattern previously correlated with estradiol and estrone sulfate was associated with breast cancer in the prospective Swedish Mammography Cohort. Among 37,004 primarily postmenopausal women diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). During 15 years of follow‐up 1,603 cases of breast cancer were identified. A higher estrogen dietary pattern score was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Women in the highest quartile of estrogen pattern score had a 29% (95% CI = 1.08–1.55) increased risk of breast cancer compared to women in the lowest quartile (p_trend = 0.006). When the association was examined by estrogen‐receptor status, it was only significant for those with estrogen‐receptor‐positive tumors; however, in the competing risk analysis there were no significant differences in the effect estimates by receptor subtype (p_{heterogeneity} = 0.65). Our findings suggest that a dietary pattern associated with higher estrogen levels may increase breast cancer risk. However, whether the influence of this dietary pattern is through a direct effect on estrogen levels deserves further study.     

Dietary folate and folate vitamers and the risk of prostate cancer in The Netherlands Cohort Study

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between intake of folate, and specific folate vitamers, and the risk of advanced and total prostate cancer.

Methods

The association between dietary folate and prostate cancer risk was evaluated in The Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) on diet and cancer, conducted among 58,279 men ages 55–69?years at baseline. Information on diet was collected at baseline by means of food frequency questionnaires. Incident cases were identified by record linkage with regional cancer registries and the Dutch National Database of Pathology Reports. After 17.3?years of follow-up, 3,669 incident prostate cancer cases, of which 1,290 advanced cases, and 2,336 male subcohort members were available for case-cohort analyses.

Results

Dietary folate was not associated with prostate cancer risk, nor with the risk of advanced prostate cancer, among men in the NLCS cohort (HR?=?1.05, 95?% CI: 0.87–1.26 and HR?=?1.09, 95?% CI: 0.88–1.35, respectively, for the highest quintile of folate intake vs. the lowest quintile). Specific folate vitamers were neither associated with the risk of prostate cancer or risk of advanced prostate cancer.

Conclusions

Our results do not support an association of dietary folate or specific folate vitamers on the risk of prostate cancer, or advanced prostate cancer.     

Association between Dietary Inflammatory Index and Prostate Cancer in Shiraz Province of Iran

Background: Dietary components like food items and nutrients have been implicated to play a role in modulating inflammation and the development of prostate cancer. Studies examining this association have not been extensively explored in Middle Eastern Countries. Material and Methods: We examined the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DIITM) and prostate cancer in the Shiraz province of Iran. A total of 60 incident cases and 60 controls attending the same hospital as the cases were recruited. The energy adjusted DII (E-DIITM) was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios. Results: Men with higher E-DII (>0.96) were at higher risk of prostate cancer (OR = 2.55; 95% CI =1.04–6.23) compared to men with E-DII ≤0.96. Conclusion: These data suggest a pro-inflammatory diet, as indicated by increasing DII score, may be a risk factor for prostate cancer in Iranian men.     

Association between human papillomavirus infection and prostate cancer: A global systematic review and meta‐analysis

Although an increasing number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and distribution of HPV types worldwide with the risk of prostate cancer (PC), the results remain inadequate. Hence, we investigated the association between HPV infection and PC risk using a meta‐analysis. Relevant studies from January 1990 to December 2016 were searched in PubMed, Web of sciences, and Scopus databases. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to find the association between the prevalence of HPV and prostate cancer risk. To do so, data from 24 studies with 5546 prostate cancer cases were pooled in order to evaluate the heterogeneity of chief parameters including study region, specimen type, HPV DNA source, detection technique, publication calendar period, and Gleason score. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 11 and MedCalc 13. A significant positive association was found between HPV infection and PC risk (OR = 1.281; P = 0.026). The genotype 16 was more frequently found in patients with PC which significantly increased the cancer risk (OR = 1.60; P < 0.001). Age 65 and older could significantly escalate PC risk (OR = 3.564; P < 0.001). Our results clearly favor the potential pathogenetic link between HPV infection and increased risk of PC affirming that HPV infections could play a part in the risk of PC.     

Dietary patterns and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer

The association between individual foods and breast cancer has been inconsistent. Therefore, we examined the association between diet and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by the alternative approach of dietary patterns. Dietary patterns were identified with factor analysis from food consumption data collected from a food frequency questionnaire in 1984. Relative risks were computed using proportional hazard models and adjusted for known risk factors for breast cancer. Between 1984 and 2000, we ascertained 3,026 incident cases of postmenopausal breast cancer. We identified 2 major dietary patterns. The prudent pattern is characterized by higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish and poultry, while the Western pattern is characterized by higher intake of red and processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts and high-fat dairy products. Neither of the patterns was associated with overall risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. However, a positive association between the Western pattern score was observed among smokers at baseline (relative risk = 1.44, comparing top to bottom quintiles; 95% CI = 1.02-2.03; p for trend = 0.03). An inverse association was observed between the prudent pattern and estrogen receptor-negative cancer (relative risk = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.45-0.88; p for trend = 0.006). Among the major food groups, higher consumptions of fruits (relative risk for 1 serving/day increase = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.80-0.97; p = 0.009) and vegetables (relative risk = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.88-0.99; p = 0.03) were significantly associated with decreased risk for ER(-) breast cancer. In conclusion, we did not observe an overall association between the prudent or Western pattern and overall breast cancer risk. However, a Western-type diet may elevate risk of breast cancer among smokers, and a prudent diet may protect against estrogen receptive-negative tumors.     

Do Exposure to Arsenic,Occupation and Diet have Synergistic Effects on Prostate Cancer Risk?

Background: Diverse environmental exposures, as well as dietary and lifestyle factors, are associated with prostatecancer (PC) etiology; however little is known about joint interactive influences. The aim of this study was to analyseeffects of diet combined with arsenic in drinking water and agricultural occupation on PC risk. Methods: A case-controlstudy was conducted in Córdoba, Argentina (period 2008-2015) including 147 cases of PC and 300 controls. All subjectswere interviewed about food consumption, socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics. A sample of drinking waterwas taken to determine arsenic concentrations. Adherence scores to the Traditional Dietary Pattern were estimated, basedon a principal component factor analysis. A two-level logistic regression model was fitted in order to assess effects ofthe Traditional Pattern, occupation and arsenic exposure on the occurrence of PC (outcome). Family history of PC wasconsidered as a clustering variable. Results: PC risk was greatest in subjects with high adherence to the Traditional Pattern(OR 2.18; 95%IC 1.097–4.344). Subjects exposed to arsenic in drinking water above 0.01mg/l who simultaneouslyperformed agricultural activities showed a markedly elevated PC risk (OR 5.07; 95%IC 2.074-12.404). Variance ofthe random effect of family history of PC was significant. conclusion: Diet, arsenic and occupation in agriculture exertsignificant effects on PC risk. Further efforts are necessary to analyse risk factors integrally, in order to achieve a betterunderstanding of the complex causal network for PC in this multiple-exposure population.     

Dietary folate intake and lung cancer risk in former smokers: a case-control analysis.

No studies have focused on the role of dietary folate intake in risk of lung cancer in former smokers, in whom dietary folate intake is less likely confounded with current smoking. Therefore, we evaluated the association between dietary folate intake and risk of lung cancer in a population of 470 histopathologically confirmed incident lung cancer cases from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and 472 cancer-free controls from enrollees at a community-based multispecialty physician practice, frequency-matched on age (5 years), sex, and ethnicity. Dietary folate intake levels were estimated from a National Cancer Institute standard food frequency questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the crude and adjusted ORs and their 95% CIs. Dietary folate intake from natural food was significantly higher among the controls than among the cases (P < 0.001), and folate intake above the control median value was associated with a 40% decreased risk of lung cancer (adjusted OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.45-0.79). A significant inverse dose-response relationship between increasing dietary folate and decreasing risk of lung cancer was also evident (adjusted OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.71-1.47; OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46-0.99; and OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35-0.80 for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of average folate intake, respectively; P for trend <0.001). A more pronounced inverse association between dietary folate intake and lung cancer risk was observed among subjects who drank alcohol, had smoked relatively more, those who did not take supplemental folate, and those who reported a family history of lung cancer. Our data suggest that there is a possible protective role of dietary folate in lung carcinogenesis, a finding which may have implications in public health and cancer prevention.     

A case-control study of diet and gastric cancer in northern Italy

Dietary factors in the aetiology of stomach cancer were investigated using data from a case-control study conducted in Northern Italy on 206 histologically confirmed carcinomas and 474 control subjects in hospital for acute, non-digestive conditions, unrelated to any of the potential risk factors for gastric cancer. Dietary histories concerned the frequency of consumption per week of 29 selected food items (including the major sources of starches, proteins, fats, fibres, vitamins A and C, nitrates and nitrites in the Italian diet) and subjective scores for condiments and salt intake. Pasta and rice (the major sources of starch), polenta (a porridge made of maize) and ham were positively related with gastric cancer risk, whereas green vegetables and fresh fruit as a whole (and specifically citrus fruit) and selected fibre-rich aliments (such as whole-grain bread or pasta) showed protective effects on gastric cancer risk. Allowance for major identified potential distorting factors (chiefly indicators of socio-economic status) reduced the positive association with pasta or rice consumption, but did not appreciably modify any of the other risk estimates. When a single logistic model was fitted including all food items significant in univariate analysis, the 3 items remaining statistically significant were green vegetables (relative risk, RR = 0.27 for upper vs. lower tertile), polenta (RR = 2.32) and ham (RR = 1.60). Indices of beta-carotene and ascorbate intake were negatively and strongly related with gastric cancer risk, but the association with these micronutrients was no longer evident after simultaneous allowance for various food items. An approximately 7-fold difference in risk was found between extreme quintiles of a scale measuring major positive and negative associations.     

Association of XRCC1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms and susceptibility to pancreatic cancer in Chinese

The human X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 gene (XRCC1) is an important candidate gene for affecting pancreatic cancer (PC) risk. The objective of this study was to detect whether the c.1471G?>?A and c.1686C?>?G polymorphisms of XRCC1 gene influence PC risk. The association of XRCC1 genetic variants with PC risk was analyzed in 328 PC patients and 350 controls by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction method. Our data suggested that the genotypes and alleles from these two genetic variants were statistically associated with PC risk. For c.1471G?>?A, the AA genotype was associated with the decreased risk of developing PC compared to GG wild genotype (odds ratio (OR)?=?0.43, 95 % confidence intervals (CI) 0.26–0.70, chi-squared (χ ²)?=?11.91, P?=?0.001). For c.1686C?>?G, the risk of PC was significantly lower for GG genotype in comparing to CC wild genotype (OR?=?0.48, 95 % CI 0.29–0.81, χ ²?=?7.98, P?=?0.005). The A allele of c.1471G?>?A and G allele of c.1686C?>?G genetic variants could contribute to decrease the risk of PC (for c.1471G?>?A: A vs G, OR?=?0.65, 95 % CI 0.52–0.82, χ ²?=?13.71, P?<?0.001, for c.1686C?>?G: G vs C, OR?=?0.70, 95 % CI 0.55–0.88, χ ²?=?9.42, P?=?0.002). Our findings indicate that the c.1471G?>?A and c.1686C?>?G polymorphisms of XRCC1 gene are associated with PC risk in Chinese population.     

Dietary Nutrient Patterns and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study from Iran

Background: Prostate cancer is the second common cancer in the world. Although some associations betweendietary intakes and prostate cancer have been found, the effects of dietary nutrients interactions have not yet evaluated.The aim of this study is to assess the association between nutrient patterns and risk of prostate cancer. Methods andMaterials: Ninety-seven patients with prostate cancer and 205 controls were asked about their demographic and dietaryintakes using validated questionnaires. To extract nutrient patterns, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on the35 nutrient items were applied. Varimax rotation was used for improving interpretation and minimizing correlationbetween the factors. Logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI)of prostate cancer by higher scores on the nutrient patterns. Results: High adherence to the “plant source” pattern wasnegatively associated with prostate cancer risk (OR 0.29 for the highest vs. the lowest score tertile; 95% CI= 0.13 – 0.65;P value for trend:<0.003). Similarly, the “antioxidant and fiber” pattern was associated with decreasing risk of prostatecancer (OR 0.06 for the highest vs. the lowest score tertile;95% CI=0.02 – 0.19; P value for trend:<0.001). There wasno significant association for the “mixed” and “vitamin and minerals” pattern with risk of prostate cancer. Conclusion:This study confirms the potential and important role of nutrients on prostate cancer risk. Our finding revealed that“antioxidant and fiber” and “plant source” pattern is inversely associated with prostate cancer risk; however, furtherlongitudinal and trial studies are needed to make a firm conclusion.     

Dietary inflammatory index and prostate cancer survival

Systemic inflammatory status has been reported to impact survival of prostate cancer (PCa) patients; however, evidence is lacking on whether the inflammatory potential of diet can influence prognosis of PCa patients. To investigate the association between a dietary inflammatory index (DII) and PCa survival, we conducted a retrospective cohort study including 726 men with PCa originally enrolled, between 1995 and 2002, in an Italian case–control study. Information on diet and Gleason score was collected at PCa diagnosis. DII was derived from a food frequency questionnaire using a validated algorithm. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of death with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using a Fine‐Gray model. DII scores were not significantly associated with all‐cause mortality of PCa patients (HR highest vs. lowest DII tertile = 1.25; 95% CI: 0.86–1.83). However, considerable heterogeneity emerged according to Gleason score (p < 0.01): no associations emerged among men with Gleason score 2–6 PCa; whereas, among patients with Gleason score 7–10 PCa, DII was directly associated with both all‐cause and PCa‐specific mortality (HR highest vs. lowest DII tertile: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.41–5.48; and 4.01; 95% CI: 1.25–12.86; respectively). Among patients with Gleason score 7–10 PCa, ten‐year all‐cause survival probabilities were 58% (95% CI: 47–67%) for highest and 78% (95% CI: 67–86%) for lowest DII tertile. Study findings support the hypothesis that diet, through its inflammatory potential, may influence the prognosis of patients with more aggressive PCa. Dietary interventions aimed at decreasing inflammation may be considered to improve survival of men with PCa.     

Inflammatory potential of diet and risk of pancreatic cancer in the Prostate,Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial

Inflammation plays a central role in pancreatic cancer etiology and can be modulated by diet. We aimed to examine the association between the inflammatory potential of diet, assessed with the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®), and pancreatic cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial prospective cohort. Our study included 101,449 participants aged 52–78 years at baseline who completed both baseline questionnaire and a diet history questionnaire. Energy‐adjusted DII (E‐DII) scores were computed based on food and supplement intake. Cox proportional hazards models and time dependent Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with participants in the lowest E‐DII quintile (most anti‐inflammatory scores) as referent. After a median 8.5 years of follow‐up, 328 pancreatic cancer cases were identified. E‐DII scores were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk in the multivariable model (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.66–1.35; p‐trend = 0.43). Time significantly modified the association (p‐interaction = 0.01). During follow up <4 years, there was suggestive evidence of an inverse association between E‐DII and pancreatic cancer (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.35–1.02; p‐trend = 0.20) while there was a significant positive trend in the follow up ≥4 years (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 1.31; 95% CI = 0.83–2.08; p‐trend = 0.03). Similar results were observed for E‐DII from food only. Our study does not support an association between inflammatory potential of diet and pancreatic cancer risk; however, heterogeneous results were obtained with different follow‐up times. These divergent associations may result from the influences of undetected disease in the short‐term.     

Metformin use among type 2 diabetics and risk of pancreatic cancer in a clinic‐based case–control study

A better understanding of the association between diabetes and pancreatic cancer (PC) may inform prevention and/or early detection strategies. Metformin has been associated with reduced risk of certain cancers, including PC, in some observational clinical studies. We assessed whether metformin use was associated with PC risk among those with type 2 diabetes (DM2), and whether metformin use modulated the association between DM2 and risk of PC. In total, 536 PC cases and 869 frequency‐matched controls were recruited predominantly from University of California San Francisco medical clinics from 2006 to 2011. Eligible participants completed direct interviews using a structured risk factor questionnaire. The association between metformin use and PC risk was assessed using propensity score‐weighted unconditional logistic regression methods in analyses restricted to diabetics and adjusted multivariable logistic models in the total study population. Ever use of metformin was not associated with PC risk in analyses restricted to DM2 (N = 170) participants (adjusted OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.61–1.68). In the total study population (N = 1,405) using nondiabetics as the referent group, PC risk was inversely associated with diabetes duration (p_trend < 0.001). Further, when DM2 participants were grouped by ever/never use of metformin and compared with nondiabetics, metformin use did not affect the association between DM2 and PC risk (never users: OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 0.78–2.67; ever users: OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.72–1.99). Results from our clinic‐based case–control study suggest that metformin use is not associated with PC risk among those with DM2 and does not alter the association between DM2 and PC risk.     

The role of a Mediterranean diet on the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer

Background:

The Mediterranean diet has a beneficial role on various neoplasms, but data are scanty on oral cavity and pharyngeal (OCP) cancer.

Methods:

We analysed data from a case-control study carried out between 1997 and 2009 in Italy and Switzerland, including 768 incident, histologically confirmed OCP cancer cases and 2078 hospital controls. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was measured using the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) based on the major characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, and two other scores, the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern Adherence Index (MDP) and the Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI).

Results:

We estimated the odds ratios (ORs), and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI), for increasing levels of the scores (i.e., increasing adherence) using multiple logistic regression models. We found a reduced risk of OCP cancer for increasing levels of the MDS, the ORs for subjects with six or more MDS components compared with two or less being 0.20 (95% CI 0.14–0.28, P-value for trend <0.0001). The ORs for the highest vs the lowest quintile were 0.20 (95% CI 0.14–0.28) for the MDP score (score 66.2 or more vs less than 57.9), and 0.48 (95% CI 0.33–0.69) for the MAI score (score value 2.1 or more vs value less 0.92), with significant trends of decreasing risk for both scores. The favourable effect of the Mediterranean diet was apparently stronger in younger subjects, in those with a higher level of education, and in ex-smokers, although it was observed in other strata as well.

Conclusions:

Our study provides strong evidence of a beneficial role of the Mediterranean diet on OCP cancer.     

Diet and the duration of testosterone-dependent prostate cancer in Lobund-Wistar rats

Hormone-related cancers in the prostate, breast, endometrium, ovary and testicle account for 30% of malignancies in humans. We have developed a unique model of spontaneous prostate cancer (PC) in Lobund-Wistar [L-W] rats that shares many of its characteristics with the natural history of PC in man, including (a) inherent predisposition, high production of testosterone and aging risk factors, (b) endogenous tumorigenic mechanisms, and (c) early stage testosterone-dependent and late stage testosterone-independent tumors. About 30% of L-W rats on diet L-485 develop spontaneous palpable cancer in the anterior prostate-seminal vesicle (P-SV) complex in average of 20.5 months. At age 12 months early stage spontaneous PC was prevented or reversed by testosterone-deprivation through change of diet from L-485 to soy protein isolate/isoflavone (SPII) diet, thereby preventing the late lethal clinical disease: about 75% of rats at risk of developing testosterone-independent P-SV tumors were free of detectable cancer and about 25% had developed testosterone-independent cancer at age 12 months. The duration of the dependent stage exceeded age 12 months in 75% of the rats at risk. Dietary soymeal, found in most natural ingredient diets, may promote PC tumorigenesis, but only in L-W rats.     

Dietary Fibre and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: a Case-Control Study

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in China. Dietary fibre hasbeen thought to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer in Western countries. However, studies investigatingthe association between dietary fibre (particularly soluble and insoluble fibres) and colorectal cancer havehitherto been lacking in China. Objective: This case-control study examined the effect of dietary fibre intakeon the risk of colorectal cancer, stratified by tumour site. Materials and Methods: The study included 265 cases(colon cancer, 105; rectal cancer, 144; colon and rectal cancer, 16) and 252 controls residing in Qingdao. A foodfrequency questionnaire that included 121 food items was used to collect dietary information. Odds ratio (OR)and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression analysis. Results:For food groups, controls in the study consumed more vegetables, soy food and total fibre than did colorectalcancer patients (p<0.05). The intakes of fruit, meat and sea-food did not differ significantly between cases andcontrols. However, we did not find any association between soy food intake and colon cancer. We observed inverseassociations between total fibre intake and colorectal, colon and rectal cancer (Q4 vs Q1: OR=0.44, 95%CI, 0.27-0.73; OR=0.40, 95%CI, 0.21-0.76; OR=0.52, 95%CI, 0.29-0.91). Vegetable fibre intake showed similar inverseassociations (Q4 vs Q1: OR=0.51, 95%CI, 0.31-0.85; OR=0.48, 95%CI, 0.25-0.91; OR=0.53, 95%CI, 0.29-0.97). Inaddition, inverse associations were observed between soluble fibre and insoluble fibre and both colorectal cancerand colon cancer. No relationship was found between colorectal cancer and fruit, soy or grain fibre intakewhenthe results were stratified by tumour site. Conclusions: The present study suggests that vegetable fibre and totalfibre play very important roles in protecting against colorectal cancer. Soluble and insoluble fibres were inverselyassociated with only colorectal cancer and colon cancer.