Diet-wide association study of 92 foods and nutrients and lung cancer risk

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and while smoking is the most significant factor affecting lung cancer risk, other environmental and genetic factors may contribute. Here, the authors looked for an association between the foods people eat and their lung cancer risk. Using an approach they call a diet-wide association study, modelled after genome-wide association studies, they evaluated 92 individual food and nutrient intakes for association with lung cancer risk. Data came from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC) and the Netherlands Cohort Study. No major associations were detected for lung cancer overall, but higher fruit and vitamin C intakes were associated with lower squamous cell lung cancer risk.
In the study, dietary factors were investigated separately and by type, so total alcohol intake was examined as well as individual alcoholic beverage types: beer/cider, spirits, wine and fortified wine.
In EPIC, there was a higher risk of lung cancer associated with beer/cider consumption, but not with other alcoholic beverage types (wine, spirits) or total alcohol intake. In the analysis, beer/cider intake was positively associated with lung cancer risk in current smokers (with an identical point estimate for former smokers), but was not associated with lung cancer in never smokers.
Source: Heath AK, Muller DC, van den Brandt PA, Critselis E, Gunter M, Vineis P, Weiderpass E, Boeing H, Ferrari P, Merritt MA, Rostgaard-Hansen AL et al. Diet-wide associa-tion study of 92 foods and nutrients and lung cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study and the Netherlands Cohort Study. Int J Cancer. 2022 Dec 1;151(11):1935-1946.