Inflammatory potential of diet and risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer in a large case-control study from Italy

Abstract

Diet and inflammation have been suggested to be important risk factors for oral and pharyngeal cancer. We examined the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and oral and pharyngeal cancer in a large case-control study conducted between 1992 and 2009 in Italy. This study included 946 cases with incident, histologically confirmed oral and pharyngeal cancer, and 2492 controls hospitalized for acute non-neoplastic diseases. The DII was computed based on dietary intake assessed by a valid 78-item food frequency questionnaire and was adjusted for non-alcohol energy intake using the residual approach (E-DII). Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for age, sex, non-alcohol energy intake, study center, year of interview, education, body mass index, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking. Subjects with higher DII scores (i.e., with a more pro-inflammatory diet) had a higher risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer, the OR being 1.80 (95% CI 1.36–2.38) for the highest versus the lowest DII quartile and 1.17 (95 % CI 1.10–1.25) for a one-unit increase (8 % of the DII range). When stratified by selected covariates, a stronger association was observed among women (ORquartile4 v.1 3.30, 95% CI 1.95–5.57). We also observed stronger association for oral cancer subsite and a strong combined effect of higher DII and tobacco smoking or alcohol consumption on oral and pharyngeal cancer. These results indicate that the pro-inflammatory potential of the diet, as shown by higher DII scores, is associated with higher odds of oral and pharyngeal cancer.

Proinflammatory diet is associated with increased risk of squamous cell head and neck cancer

“…23 In another study from Italy of 946 oral and pharyngeal cancer cases and 2492 controls, higher DII scores (i.e., with a more proinflammatory diet) had a higher risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer (Q4 vs. Q1 OR: 1.80; 95% CI 1.36-2.38 and one-unit increase OR: 1.17; 95% CI 1.10-1.25). 22 In the same study, strong combined effects of higher DII score and tobacco smoking or alcohol consumption on oral and pharyngeal cancer were observed.…”

“…The index has been associated with inflammatory biomarkers including CRP, IL-6 and homocysteine. [19][20][21] The DII also has been shown to be associated with cancers of head and neck in Italy, [22][23][24] but has never been investigated in a populationbased case-control study in the United States.…”

Computer‐assisted analysis of tongue thickness of golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) following topical chronic exposure to distilled alcoholic beverages

“…Although a large number of studies have evaluated the effects of alcohol intake on the organism (Abdelaziz & Osman, ; Adewole, ; Ahmed, Ebnoof, Hussein, & Gbreel, ; Boffetta, Mashberg, Winkelmann, & Garfinkel, ; Bor‐Caymaz, Bor, Tobey, Abdulnour‐Nakhoul, & Orlando, ; Brugere, Guenel, Leclerc, & Rodriguez, ; Howie et al., ; Maier et al., ; Martinez, De Oliveria et al., ; Ogden, Wight, & Cowpe, ; Pavanello, Prado, Balducci, Brandão, & Almeida, ; Reis, do Espírito Santo, Andrade, & Sadigursky, ; Shivappa et al., ; Slomiany, Piotrowski, & Slomiany, ; Slomiany et al., ,c; Varoni et al., ) and some have found morphological changes in the mucosa (Born et al., ; Maier et al., ; Martinez, Milton et al., ; Mascrès et al., ; Valentine et al., ), the comparison of the findings to those of the present study is hindered by the lack of methodological standardization, with differences in the species of animal employed, the diet of the animal, concentration of alcohol, type of administration (oral pathway or topical), duration and form of administration. Due to the short evaluation periods in the present study, no signs of metaplasia or neoplasia were found.…”

“…Just over 40% of the adult population worldwide consumes alcohol, with a mean intake per individual of 17.1 L annually (Shield et al., ). Several studies point to the association between alcohol consumption and cancer (Shivappa et al., ; Varoni, Lodi, & Iriti, ). Alcohol use has been associated with changes in the membrane of epithelial cells, cell proliferation and the mechanisms responsible for the preservation of intercellular fluid as well as the inhibition of the synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids (Slomiany, Piotrowski, Piotrowski, & Slomiany, ).…”

Associations between inflammatory gene polymorphisms (TNF-α 308G/A, TNF-α 238G/A, TNF-β 252A/G, TGF-β1 29T/C, IL-6 174G/C and IL-10 1082A/G) and susceptibility to osteosarcoma: a meta-analysis and literature review

“…Inflammation is the body’s immune response to infection, injury, insult or any other acute and chronic factors [ 41 ]. Immune cells and inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), tumor growth factor and interleukin (IL) are commonly involved in the process of inflammation [ 41 ]. The continuous presence of these inflammatory cytokines may alter the tissue microenvironment and cause mutation of normal cells.…”