Fat Intake and Risk of Lung Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Diets high in saturated fat may cause increased risks of lung cancer, according to a study led by Jae Jeong Yang, MPH, PhD, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville. Results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrated an association between high intake of saturated fat and increased risk of lung cancer and squamous cell and small cell cancers among current smokers.
The study included 1,445,850 participants among 10 prospective cohort studies from the United States, Europe, and Asia. After a mean follow-up of 9.4 years, 18,822 incident cases of lung cancer were identified. Risk models were arranged by age and enrollment year and adjusted for age, sex, smoking status and history, family history, race/ethnicity, education, and lifestyle habits. The positive association of saturated fat risk was greater among current smokers than former/never-smokers and for squamous cell and small cell carcinoma than for other histologic types.
In contrast, polyunsaturated fat was associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer. Substituting 5% of saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat showed reductions in the risk of small cell and squamous cell carcinomas by 16% to 17%.
