Food intake and risk of basal cell carcinoma in an 11-year prospective study of Australian adults

Abstract

Background/Objective: Experimental studies suggest that dietary factors may influence skin cancer risk, but there have been few human studies of diet and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of skin cancer. The objective was to prospectively investigate the association between food intake and incidence of BCC skin cancers. Subjects/Methods: At baseline in 1992, 1056 adults in a subtropical Australian community completed a validated foodfrequency questionnaire from which we estimated the intake of 15 food groups, selected based on hypothesized associations in the literature. Between 1992 and 2002, incident, histologically confirmed BCCs were recorded in terms of number of persons newly affected by BCC, as well as BCC tumor counts. Results: Intakes of the food groups were not associated with the incidence of persons affected by BCC. However, there was a borderline positive association between intake of eggs and incidence of BCC tumors (highest vs lowest tertile adjusted relative risk (RR) 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0-2.2; P for trend ¼ 0.06). A borderline inverse association with potato intake (highest vs lowest tertile RR 0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-1.0, P for trend ¼ 0.06) disappeared after exclusion of three subjects with more than 10 BCCs. Conclusion: Despite some suggestive evidence that egg and potato consumption may be associated with BCC tumor incidence, there are no plausible grounds for considering these as truly causal rather than chance associations. This study provides little evidence for a role of food intake in BCC prevention.

Low-Fat Diet and Skin Cancer Risk: The Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial

“…Our overall null results are consistent with several observational studies that found no association between fat intake(16, 17) or vegetable and fruit intake(15, 17, 18) and risk of NMSCs (i.e., basal cell and/or squamous cell carcinomas). A 4-year prospective study of 73,366 women without history of skin cancer in the Nurses’ Health Study found no overall association between dietary fat intake and incidence of basal cell carcinoma(16), while an 8-year prospective study of 43,217 men without history of skin cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study found that higher percent energy from total fat was associated with lower risk of basal cell carcinoma(18).…”

Tea, coffee, and caffeine and early-onset basal cell carcinoma in a case–control study

“…This finding was not supported by our null results for tea alone, as well as studies of SCC [53, 56] and BCC [56]. This could in part be due to the wide variety of types of tea and their differing bioactive components, and the potential for high levels of some phenolics in tea to induce oxidative DNA damage [57].…”

Molecular mechanisms of garlic‐derived allyl sulfides in the inhibition of skin cancer progression

“…In contrast, due to its rapid metastasis and chemotherapy resistance, melanoma is the least common form but most lethal malignancy derived from melanocytes 5 . Evidence strongly suggests that excessive ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, ozone depletion, genetic and dietary factors, and lifestyle are associated with the development of skin cancer 6,7 . It is well known that skin cancer results from cocarcinogenic effects of different events, such as UVR‐induced DNA damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune suppression 6,8 .…”

“…5 Evidence strongly suggests that excessive ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, ozone depletion, Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Terms and Conditions set out at http://wiley onlinelibrary.com/onlineopen#OnlineOpen Terms genetic and dietary factors, and lifestyle are associated with the development of skin cancer. 6,7 It is well known that skin cancer results from cocarcinogenic effects of different events, such as UVRinduced DNA damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune suppression. 6,8 Therefore, many natural dietary agents have received considerable attention because of their biological effects, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic functions.…”