Nutrition and the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer: the evidence for any association remains weak and clinical significance remains limited.

Abstract

SUBJECTS:

Incident oral/pharyngeal cancer cases (n = 804) from 3 Italian geographic areas recruited from 1992 to 2005 were compared with 2080 contemporaneous patients admitted with non-neoplastic diagnoses at the same hospitals. Controls were matched with cases for sex, age, and study center.

KEY RISK/STUDY FACTOR:

Food ingested by patients was rated for contents of 29 nutrients and then organized into recognizable dietary patterns. Weekly patient intake of the nutrients was divided by quintiles (highest to lowest intake of the nutrient) and the risk of oral/pharyngeal cancer associated with specific diets was calculated.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:

The main outcome was a diagnosis of oral/pharyngeal cancer.

MAIN RESULTS:

A diet rich (top quintile) in animal products was associated with oral/pharyngeal cancer with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13- 2.15, when compared with the lowest quintile. Similar analyses for starch, vitamins and fiber, and unsaturated fats yielded ORs (95% CIs) of 0.71(0.50- 0.99), 0.47(0.34- 0.65), and 0.63(0.45- 0.86), respectively. A fifth category (retinol and niacin) had no association with cancer.

CONCLUSIONS:

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables, cereals, and olive oil confer protection against oral/pharyngeal cancer, whereas foods rich in animal products such as dairy and meat increase the risk for the disease.

• Authors: Andrei Barasch, Mark Litaker
• Journal: The journal of evidence-based dental practice (J Evid Based Dent Pract) Vol. 12 Issue 3 Suppl Pg. 263-4 (Sep 2012) ISSN: 1532-3390 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23253855 (Publication Type: Comment, Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2012. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.