Dietary risk factors for upper aerodigestive tract cancers

Abstract

We examined the association between whole-grain intake and incident upper aerodigestive tract cancer in a cohort of 34,651 postmenopausal, initially cancer-free women. We also studied established risk factors for upper aerodigestive cancers, including fruit and vegetable intake, smoking and alcohol intake. A mailed questionnaire at baseline in 1986 included a food-frequency questionnaire and assessment of other cancer risk factors. During the 14-year follow-up period, 169 Studies that have considered the role of dietary factors with regard to cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract have generally reported inverse associations with intake of fruit and vegetables, 1-7 and whole grains. 8,9 Several studies support the idea that wholegrain intake is associated with reduced risk of gastric cancers. 10 Studies that included grain fiber as a predictor 11,12 further bolster the idea that whole grain may protect against upper aerodigestive tract cancers. Previous studies of upper aerodigestive cancers have been case-control in design and, therefore, potentially subject to recall bias.The mechanism of the apparent protective effect of fruits, vegetables and whole grains against upper aerodigestive cancers remains unclear. It may be a result of their fiber content, antioxidant content or some other phytochemicals. Clarification of the protective mechanisms of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is important to our understanding of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract. In an analysis of the Iowa Women's Health Study (IWHS), a prospective cohort study of initially 55-to 69-year old women living in Iowa, Zheng et al. 13 reported lower dietary intake of yellow/orange vegetables and of carotene, vitamins C and E and retinol in the 59 women who developed upper digestive tract cancers between 1986 and 1992.Our primary focus was to study whether, after 14 years of follow-up in the IWHS, whole-grain intake is related to reduced risk of upper aerodigestive tract cancers. At the same time, we reviewed evidence for the established lifestyle risk factors: low fruit and vegetable intake, smoking and alcohol intake. To address potential mechanisms, we considered the roles of fiber and specific micronutrients in the risk of upper digestive tract neoplasms. MATERIAL AND METHODSA detailed description of the methodology of the IWHS has been published elsewhere. 14 Briefly, participants in the IWHS were a random sample of women aged 55-69 years from the 1985 Iowa driver's license list. A total of 41,836 women responded to a mail survey in January 1986 (42.7% response rate). Using information from the driver's license list and the 1980 U.S. census, it was determined that responders were about 3 months older than nonresponders, 0.4 kg/m 2 lighter and slightly more likely to live in rural, less affluent counties. Nonresponders had somewhat higher rates of smoking-related diseases. 14 Women were excluded from the analysis if they left 30 or more items blank on the foodfrequency questionnaire or reported implausibly high or low energy intak...

Wholegrain cereals and bread: a duet of the Mediterranean diet for the prevention of chronic diseases

“…Wholegrain cereal is consumed primarily as wholegrain bread and some as wholegrain pasta. Cohort studies have shown a lower risk for specific cancers, such as colorectal in women (46) , stomach (47) , mouth/throat and the upper digestive tract (48) and endometrium (49) . A review of forty studies on gastrointestinal cancer has found a reduction in cancer risk from 21 % to 43 % in subjects with high consumption of wholegrain cereals compared to those with low consumption (2) .…”

Fruit and vegetable intake and head and neck cancer risk in a large United States prospective cohort study

“…Recall and selection bias can affect the results of case-control studies. The few existing prospective investigations [7][8][9][10][11] have had small case numbers, [8][9][10] grouped head and neck cancer sites together with the esophagus, 7-10 not investigated total fruit or vegetable intake, [8][9][10] or examined precursor lesions. 11 We investigated the association between fruit and vegetable intake and individual head and neck cancer sub-sites in a large United States prospective cohort, the NIH-AARP Diet and Health study.…”

Growth-inhibitory and cell cycle-arresting properties of the rice bran constituent tricin in human-derived breast cancer cells in vitro and in nude mice in vivo

“…One of the perceived health benefits derived from consumption of cereal foods is their putative ability to prevent cancer (Jacobs et al, 1995;Kasum et al, 2002). Ingestion of whole grains and grain products has been shown in epidemiological studies to be associated with a reduced risk of cancers of the breast (Nicodemus et al, 2001), colon (Smigel, 1992) and prostate (Jain et al, 1999).…”