title: Food groups and risk of prostate cancer in Italy.
abstract: Although several studies have been conducted, the relation between diet and prostate cancer remains unclear. The role of a wide range of foods on the risk of prostate cancer has thus been analyzed in a case-control study conducted in Italy between 1991 and 2002. Cases were 1,294 patients below age 75 years with incident, histologically confirmed carcinoma of the prostate; controls were 1,451 subjects below age 75 years admitted to the same hospitals as cases for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic conditions. Multivariate odds ratios (ORs) were obtained after allowance for major potential confounding factors, including calorie intake. Among the 19 food groups considered, 4 showed some significant association with prostate cancer risk. A significant trend of increasing risk with more frequent consumption was found for milk and dairy products (OR = 1.2 for highest vs. lowest quintile, p = 0.03) as well as bread (OR = 1.4, p = 0.01), whereas inverse associations were observed for soups (OR = 0.8, p = 0.02) and cooked vegetables (OR = 0.7, p = 0.01). This uniquely large study on prostate cancer and diet in a southern European population confirms that no strong association exists between any specific foods and prostate cancer, apart from an increased risk for milk and dairy products and a possible protective effect of vegetables.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy. bosetti@marionegri.it
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bosetti
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Micelotta
authors.forename: Luigino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dal Maso
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Talamini
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montella
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Negri
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012306:Risk; D014675:Vegetables