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Mediterranean diet and colorectal cancer risk: a pooled analysis of three Italian case-control studies.
Br J Cancer. 2016 Aug 18. Epub 2016 Aug 18. PMID: 27537381
Valentina Rosato
BACKGROUND: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with a reduced risk of several cancers. However, studies conducted in Mediterranean regions are scanty.
METHODS: To investigate the relation between MD and colorectal cancer risk in Italy, we pooled data from three case-control studies, including a total of 3745 colorectal cancer cases and 6804 hospital controls. Adherence to the MD was assessed using an a priori Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), based on nine components.
RESULTS: Compared with the lowest adherence to the MD (0-2 MDS), the odds ratio (OR) was 0.52 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.43-0.62) for the highest adherence (7-9 MDS), with a significant inverse trend in risk (P<0.0001). The OR for a 1-point increment in the MDS was 0.89 (95% CI 0.86-0.91). The inverse association was consistent across studies, cancer anatomical subsites and strata of selected covariates.
CONCLUSIONS: This Italian study confirms a favourable role of MD on colorectal cancer risk.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 18 August 2016; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.245 www.bjcancer.com.
