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Dietary intake of lignans and risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction

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Abstract

Purpose

The strong male predominance in esophageal and gastroesophageal junctional adenocarcinoma remains unexplained. Sex hormonal influence has been suggested, but not proven. A protective role of dietary phytoestrogen lignans was hypothesized.

Methods

A Swedish nationwide population-based case–control study was conducted in 1995–1997, including 181 cases of esophageal adenocarcinoma, 255 cases of gastroesophageal junctional adenocarcinoma, 158 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and 806 control subjects. Data on various exposures, including dietary data, were collected through personal interviews and questionnaires. Dietary intake of lignans was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire and categorized into quartiles based on the consumption among the control participants. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs), including adjustment for all established risk factors.

Results

Participants in the highest quartile of intake of lignans compared with the lowest quartile were at a decreased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (OR, 0.65; 95 % CI, 0.38–1.12; p for trend =0.03), gastroesophageal junctional adenocarcinoma (OR, 0.37; 95 % CI, 0.23–0.58; p for trend <0.0001), and these adenocarcinomas combined (OR, 0.45; 95 % CI, 0.31–0.67; p for trend <0.0001). No clear associations were found between lignan intake and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Conclusions

This population-based study indicates that a high dietary intake of lignans decreases the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the 227 doctors who acted as contact persons at the participating departments. This work was supported by the Faculty Funds for Partial Financing of New Doctoral Students from Karolinska Institutet (12059012/KID-medel 2010), the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA57947-03), the Swedish Cancer Society, and the Swedish Research Council.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Upper Gastrointestinal Research, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Norra Stationsgatan 67, 2nd Floor, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden

    Yulan Lin, Jesper Lagergren & Yunxia Lu

  2. Public Health Nutrition, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Agneta Yngve

  3. Department of Health, Nutrition and Management, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway

    Agneta Yngve

  4. Division of Cancer Studies, King’s College London, London, UK

    Jesper Lagergren

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  1. Yulan Lin
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  2. Agneta Yngve
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Correspondence to Yulan Lin.

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Lin, Y., Yngve, A., Lagergren, J. et al. Dietary intake of lignans and risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction. Cancer Causes Control 23, 837–844 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-9952-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-9952-7

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