broccoli reduces bladder cancer risk
Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:54:11 -0700 (PDT)
Authors
Michaud DS. Spiegelman D. Clinton SK. Rimm EB. Willett WC. Giovannucci
EL.
Institution
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115,
USA. hpdsm@gauss.bwh.harvard.edu
Title
Fruit and vegetable intake
and incidence of bladder cancer in a male prospective cohort.
Source
Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 91(7):605-13, 1999 Apr 7.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiologic studies of fruit and
vegetable intake and bladder cancer risk
have yielded inconsistent results, especially with regard to the types of
fruits and vegetables consumed. We examined
total fruit and vegetable
intake, as well as intakes of subtypes of
fruits and vegetables, in relation to
bladder cancer risk in a large male prospective cohort study. METHODS: Two
hundred fifty-two cases of incident bladder cancer were diagnosed from 1986
through January 31, 1996, among 47,909 men enrolled in the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study. Each participant in this cohort completed a
131-item food-frequency questionnaire in 1986 and subsequently in 1990 and
- We used logistic regression analyses to examine fruit
and vegetable intake in relation to bladder
cancer risk, after adjusting for age, history of cigarette smoking, current
smoking status, geographic region, total fluid intake, and
caloric intake. RESULTS: We observed a weak, inverse
association that was not statistically significant between total
fruit and vegetable intake
and bladder cancer risk. Intake of cruciferous
vegetables was inversely associated with risk (relative risk
- 0.49; 95% confidence interval = 0.32-0.75, for the highest category of
cruciferous vegetable intake compared with
the lowest), but intakes of yellow or green leafy
vegetables or carotenoid-rich vegetables
were not associated with risk. Individual cruciferous
vegetables, except for coleslaw, were all inversely related
to bladder cancer risk, but only the associations for broccoli and cabbage
were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this study indicate
that high cruciferous vegetable consumption may reduce
bladder cancer risk, but other vegetables and
fruits may not confer appreciable benefits against this
cancer.