1 Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan; 2 Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan; 3 Servizio di Epidemiologia, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano (PN), Italy; 4 Registre Vaudois des Tumeurs, Institut Universitaire de Médicine Sociale et Préventive, Lausanne, Switzerland; 5 International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, USA; 6 Ospedale San Gerardo, Università di Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy; 7 International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon Cedex, France
Received 22 August 2002; revised 22 January 2003; accepted 19 February 2003
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Abstract |
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A role for diet in laryngeal carcinogenesis has been suggested, but only a few studies have examined the potential relationship with a wide variety of macronutrients.
Patients and methods:
A casecontrol study was conducted between 1992 and 2000 in Italy and Switzerland, including 527 incident cases of laryngeal cancer, and 1297 controls hospitalized for acute, non-neoplastic conditions. The subjects usual diet was investigated through a validated food frequency questionnaire, including 78 foods and beverages. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional multiple logistic regression models.
Results:
Cases reported higher energy intake than controls. The continuous OR for 100 kcal/day was 1.16 (95% CI 1.121.21) for alcohol energy, and 1.02 (95% CI 1.011.04) for non-alcohol energy. A significantly increased risk of laryngeal cancer was observed for animal protein (continuous OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.031.41), polyunsaturated fats other than linoleic and linolenic fatty acids (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.191.70), and cholesterol intake (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.191.71). Laryngeal cancer risk was slightly reduced with increasing vegetable protein (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.620.91), sugar (OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.711.00) and monounsaturated fatty acid intake (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.700.99).
Conclusions:
Laryngeal cancer cases have a higher energy intake than control subjects, and report a higher intake of animal protein and cholesterol.
Key words: casecontrol study, diet, laryngeal cancer, nutrients, risk factors
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Introduction |
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Among these, a casecontrol study from New York on 250 cases of laryngeal cancer and 250 population controls found an increased risk for total fat [odds ratio (OR) = 2.6], but not for protein intake, after controlling for energy intake [5]. A large, multicenter casecontrol study conducted in six regions of southwestern Europe, including 1147 male cases and 3057 population controls, reported no significant associations with proteins, carbohydrates or total fat, although a reduced risk was found for a high polyunsaturated/monounsaturated ratio (OR = 0.5) [6]. In a casecontrol study from Uruguay on cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, an increased risk of laryngeal cancer was found in relation to total fat (OR = 1.7), protein (OR = 1.6), and cholesterol intake (OR = 1.5) [7]. Another casecontrol study from the same country, including 140 laryngeal cancer cases and 420 hospitalized patients, reported increased risk of laryngeal cancer for total fat intake (OR = 3.1), and various types of fatty acids [8].
In order to provide further insight into the association between energy, various macronutrients and fatty acids and laryngeal cancer risk, we analyzed the data of a large casecontrol study from Italy and Switzerland, where diet was measured with an extensive and validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) [9, 10].
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Patients and methods |
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Cases were 527 patients (478 men and 49 women, median age 61 years, range 3079) admitted to major teaching and general hospitals in the areas under study with incident, histologically confirmed squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx, diagnosed no longer than 1 year before the interview. Laryngeal cancer cases included 271 glottis, 117 supraglottis, four subglottis, five laryngeal cartilage, 19 overlapping lesion of larynx and 111 unspecified laryngeal cancers.
Controls were 1297 subjects (1052 men and 245 women, median age 61 years, range 3179) admitted to the same hospitals as cases for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic conditions, not related to smoking, alcohol consumption and long-term modification of diet, and frequency-matched with cases by 5-year age groups, sex and area of residence. To compensate for the rarity of laryngeal cancer in women, a control-to-case ratio of about five was chosen for females, as opposed to two for males. Twenty-seven per cent of the controls were admitted for traumas, 22% for other orthopedic disorders, 29% for acute surgical conditions, and 22% for miscellaneous other illnesses, including eye, nose, ear, skin or dental disorders.
All subjects were interviewed during their hospital stay using a structured questionnaire, administered by ad hoc trained interviewers. Information was collected on sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, lifestyle habits, including tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking, a personal medical history, and family history of cancer in first-degree relatives.
The subjects diet during the 2 years before cancer diagnosis or hospital admission (for controls) was investigated through an interview-administered FFQ, proven to be satisfactorily valid [10] and reproducible [9]. This included 78 foods and beverages, as well as a range of recipes common to the study areas, grouped into seven sections: (i) bread and cereal dishes (first courses); (ii) meat and other main dishes (second courses); (iii) vegetables (side dishes); (iv) fruit; (v) sweets, desserts and soft drinks; (vi) milk, hot beverages and sweeteners; (vii) alcoholic beverages. Subjects reported the average weekly frequency of consumption of each dietary item; intakes less than once a week, but at least once a month, were coded as 0.5/week. Several questions aimed at assessing fat intake pattern were also included in the questionnaire, and used to derive quantitative estimates of intake of fats used for seasoning and cooking. A food composition database was used to calculate the composition of diet in terms of total energy and various nutrient intake [12]. As a main source of data, a large, unpublished database of approximately 3000 items was provided by the National Nutrition Institute of Rome. The composition of food items included in that database was checked according to standard methods, and values for nutrients not included in the database were derived from other sources. The composition/100 g of 1991 food items with reference to total energy intake and 90 nutrients was provided by this database.
Statistical analysis
In order to examine the effect of various macronutrients independent of total caloric intake, calorie-adjusted nutrient intakes were derived using the residual method suggested by Willett and Stampfer [13]. These calorie-adjusted macronutrients were then categorized into quintiles based on the distribution of controls, and corresponding ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional multiple logistic regression models [14]. All models included terms for age (5-year groups), sex, center, years of education (<7, 711, ≥12), body mass index (quintiles), tobacco smoking (never, ex-smoker, current smoker of <15, 1524, ≥25 cigarettes/day), alcohol drinking (<14, 1427, 2855, ≥56 drinks/week, plus a dummy variable for ex-drinkers), and non-alcohol energy intake (quintiles). In alternative models, calorie-adjusted macronutrients were entered as continuous variables, with a measurement unit equal to the difference between the upper cut point of the fourth quintile and that of the first one. Tests for trend were based on the likelihood ratio test between models with and without a linear term for each macronutrient. ORs according to a fully partitioned model were also computed in order to allow for mutual confounding effects of all major macronutrients [15, 16].
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Results |
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Discussion |
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Although an increased energy intake was observed, no relevant associations with the major nutrients contributing to energy intake, i.e. carbohydrates and fats, were observed. Conversely, we found a slight protective effect of sugars on laryngeal cancer risk, which is not surprising, given that in this population they are derived mainly from fruit, found to be inversely related to laryngeal cancer risk [11].
An association between total fat and laryngeal cancer has been inconsistently reported in previous studies [4], although there are some indications of a more favorable effect of mono- and polyunsaturated fats than of saturated ones on laryngeal carcinogenesis [6]. Our study gives some support to this hypothesis, showing a reduced risk of laryngeal cancer with monounsaturated, mainly oleic acid, intake. This reduction was, however, moderate, and tended to disappear after taking into account vegetables, which are likely to be consumed with monounsaturated fats (from olive oil), although this may well represent an overadjustment. We also found an increased risk with the intake of polyunsaturated fats, other than linoleic and linolenic fatty acids. These, however, account for only about 3% of total polyunsaturated fats, and derive probably from mixed seed oils used mainly for frying.
The strongest association in our dataset was with protein intake from animal sources. A similarly increased risk in relation to protein intake has been reported in a study from Uruguay [7], although two other studies reported no relationship with protein intake [5, 6]. Only one study reported a protective effect for high protein intake: in that study, however, protein intake was measured as a score and high protein food intake was an indicator of a better/richer diet [30].
The significant association between animal protein intake and laryngeal cancer risk reflects the positive relationship found for red meat [11], which is one of the main sources of animal proteins in this population [31]. An association between red meat consumption and laryngeal cancer was also reported in a few other investigations [8, 32, 33]. However, the results on meat are inconclusive, and no significant relationships were found for other major protein foods, such as cheese, poultry or processed meat, in our or previous studies [3]. Thus it is difficult to interpret the association between animal protein intake and laryngeal cancer, and inferences on a possible causal effect must be made with caution.
As reported in another study [7], we found a significant association with cholesterol intake. Cholesterol, found mainly in meat and eggs, is, however, strongly correlated with protein intake, and, given our results for protein, it is not surprising that similar results were found for cholesterol.
The combination of the large study size and the collection of extensive dietary information using a validated FFQ render this study one of the best to date on laryngeal cancer and diet. Further strengths include the comparable catchment areas of study subjects, the almost complete participation for both cases and controls (>90%), the collection of data on other major risk factors for laryngeal cancer, and the use of an extensive FFQ, which allows for the assessment of a broad range of macronutrients. However, as in most casecontrol studies, some selection and recall biases are possible [14]. A recent cancer diagnosis may influence recall of diet for the cases, although awareness of dietary hypotheses in cancer etiology are still limited in the populations studied, and the comparability of dietary history between cases and controls are improved by interviewing subjects in the same hospital settings. Dietary habits of hospital controls could be different from those of the general population and could be associated with their reasons for hospitalization, but we paid great attention to select controls among diagnostic categories not related to diet modifications.
In conclusion, our study indicates that laryngeal cancer cases have a higher energy intake than control subjects. A positive association was found for protein from animal origin and cholesterol, whereas an inverse association was observed for sugar. No significant relationship was observed with total fat consumption, although there was an indication that monounsaturated fatsmainly oleic acidcould have a more favorable effect on laryngeal cancer than other types of fatty acids.
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Acknowledgements |
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Footnotes |
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