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Nutrient intake and ovarian cancer: an Italian case–control study

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Abstract

Objective: The role of selected macronutrients, cholesterol, and fatty acids in the etiology of epithelial ovarian cancer was analyzed using data from a case–control study carried out in five Italian areas between January 1992 and December 1999. Methods: Cases comprised 1031 women with incident, histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer, admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals of the study areas. Controls comprised 2411 women admitted for acute, non-neoplastic conditions to the same network of hospitals. Information on dietary habits was elicited using a validated food-frequency questionnaire including 78 food groups and recipes. Odds ratios (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed by subsequent quintiles of nutrient intake. Results: Direct associations with ovarian cancer emerged for starch intake (OR = 1.4 in the highest vs the lowest quintile of intake; 95% CI 1.1–1.8), while inverse associations emerged for monounsaturated (OR = 0.7; 95% CI 0.5–0.9), and polyunsaturated (OR = 0.7; 95% CI 0.5–0.9) fatty acids. Among fatty acids, oleic (OR = 0.7; 95% CI 0.5–0.9), linoleic (OR = 0.7; 95% CI 0.5–0.9), and linolenic (OR = 0.8; 95% CI 0.6–1.0) acids were inversely related to ovarian cancer. When, however, six macronutrients were included in the same model, only the adverse effect of high starch intake remained significant. Results were consistent in separate strata of menopausal status, parity, and energy intake. Conclusions: Starch was directly associated, and unsaturated fatty acids were inversely associated, with ovarian cancer risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, via Pedemontana Occ., 33081, Aviano (PN), Italy

    Ettore Bidoli

  2. Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, 20157, Milan, Italy

    Carlo La Vecchia & Eva Negri

  3. Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Carlo La Vecchia

  4. Servizio di Epidemiologia, Istituto Nazionale Tumori “Fondazione Giovanni Pascale”, 80100, Naples, Italy

    Maurizio Montella

  5. Epidemiology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, 33081, Aviano, Italy

    Luigino Dal Maso

  6. Istituto Regina Elena per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, 00100, Rome, Italy

    Ettore Conti

  7. Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, 33081, Aviano, Italy

    Carlo Scarabelli

  8. Division of Human Pathology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, 33081, Aviano, Italy

    Antonino Carbone

  9. Sezione di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Brescia, 25123, Brescia, Italy

    Adriano Decarli

  10. Field and Intervention Studies Unit, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 69372, Lyon, France

    Silvia Franceschi

Authors
  1. Ettore Bidoli
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  2. Carlo La Vecchia
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  3. Maurizio Montella
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  4. Luigino Dal Maso
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  5. Ettore Conti
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  6. Eva Negri
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  7. Carlo Scarabelli
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  8. Antonino Carbone
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  9. Adriano Decarli
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  10. Silvia Franceschi
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Bidoli, E., La Vecchia, C., Montella, M. et al. Nutrient intake and ovarian cancer: an Italian case–control study. Cancer Causes Control 13, 255–261 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015047625060

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