Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, Vol 7, Issue 8 667-671, Copyright © 1998 by American Association for Cancer Research

ARTICLES

Fiber intake and risk of colorectal cancer

E Negri, S Franceschi, M Parpinel and C La Vecchia
Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy.

The relationship between various types of fiber and colorectal cancer risk was investigated using data from a case-control study conducted between January 1992 and June 1996 in Italy. The study included 1953 cases of incident, histologically confirmed colorectal cancers (1225 colon cancers and 728 rectal cancers) admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals in the study areas and 4154 controls with no history of cancer admitted to hospitals in the same catchment areas for acute nonneoplastic diseases. Dietary habits were investigated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed after allowance for age, sex, and other potential confounding factors, including physical activity and protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake. Fiber was analyzed both as a continuous variable and in quintiles. For most types of fiber, the OR of colon and rectal cancers was significantly below 1, and no appreciable differences emerged between the two. When the unit was set at the difference between the upper cutpoints of the fourth and first quintile, i.e., the 80th and 20th percentiles, the ORs for colorectal cancer were 0.68 for total fiber (determined by the Englyst method as nonstarch polysaccharides), 0.67 for soluble noncellulose polysaccharides (NCPs), 0.71 for total insoluble fiber, 0.67 for cellulose, 0.82 for insoluble NCPs, and 0.88 for lignin. When fiber was classified according to the source, the OR was 0.75 for vegetable fiber, 0.85 for fruit fiber, and 1.09 for cereal fiber. The ORs were similar for the two sexes and the strata of age, education, physical activity, family history of colorectal cancer, and energy intake. Likewise, no appreciable differences emerged when subsites of the colon and rectum were investigated separately. This study provides additional support for a protective and independent effect of fiber on colorectal cancer, particularly for cellulose and soluble NCPs, and of fiber of vegetable or fruit origin.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Wakai, C. Date, M. Fukui, K. Tamakoshi, Y. Watanabe, N. Hayakawa, M. Kojima, M. Kawado, K. Suzuki, S. Hashimoto, et al. Dietary Fiber and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., April 1, 2007; 16(4): 668 - 675. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. S. Hudson, M. R. Forman, M. M. Cantwell, A. Schatzkin, P. S. Albert, and E. Lanza Dietary Fiber Intake: Assessing the Degree of Agreement between Food Frequency Questionnaires and 4-Day Food Records. J. Am. Coll. Nutr., October 1, 2006; 25(5): 370 - 381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. T Jacobs, E. Lanza, D. S Alberts, C.-H. Hsu, R. Jiang, A. Schatzkin, P. A Thompson, and M. E. Martinez Fiber, sex, and colorectal adenoma: results of a pooled analysis Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, February 1, 2006; 83(2): 343 - 349. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C Brand-Miller, V. Liu, P. Petocz, and R. C Baxter The glycemic index of foods influences postprandial insulin-like growth factor-binding protein responses in lean young subjects Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2005; 82(2): 350 - 354. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Satia-Abouta, J. A. Galanko, J. D. Potter, A. Ammerman, C. F. Martin, and R. S. Sandler Associations of Total Energy and Macronutrients with Colon Cancer Risk in African Americans and Whites: Results from the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study Am. J. Epidemiol., November 15, 2003; 158(10): 951 - 962. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Pelucchi, R. Talamini, F. Levi, C. Bosetti, C. La Vecchia, E. Negri, M. Parpinel, and S. Franceschi Fibre intake and laryngeal cancer risk Ann. Onc., January 1, 2003; 14(1): 162 - 167. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. T. Jacobs, A. R. Giuliano, D. J. Roe, J. M. Guillen-Rodriguez, D. S. Alberts, and M. E. Martinez Baseline Dietary Fiber Intake and Colorectal Adenoma Recurrence in the Wheat Bran Fiber Randomized Trial J Natl Cancer Inst, November 6, 2002; 94(21): 1620 - 1625. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. T. Jacobs, A. R. Giuliano, D. J. Roe, J. M. Guillen-Rodriguez, L. M. Hess, D. S. Alberts, and M. E. Martinez Intake of Supplemental and Total Fiber and Risk of Colorectal Adenoma Recurrence in the Wheat Bran Fiber Trial Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., September 1, 2002; 11(9): 906 - 914. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]