Diet high in fat escalates risk of ovarian cancer

A high intake of meat and fat may increase the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, according to a study out of Australia. However, women who feasted on fruit and vegetables exhibited a reduced risk.

Fariba Kolahdooz and colleagues at the Queensland Medical Research Institute in Brisbane conducted a population-based case-control study to analyze dietary patterns in relation to ovarian cancer risk. An analysis of the principal components of 40 food groups was performed in order to identify eating patterns in 683 women with epithelial ovarian cancer and in 777 control women (ages 18-79 years).

Information on risk factors was obtained through in-person interviews while dietary information was obtained by a self-administered, semiquantitative, food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for ovarian cancer risk were estimated with logistic regression modeling (Am J Clin Nutr 89: 297-304, 2009).

The researchers identified three major eating patterns: “snacks and alcohol,” “fruit and vegetable,” and “meat and fat.” The fruit and vegetable pattern was not associated with risk. The meat and fat pattern was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer (highest compared with lowest group, multivariable-adjusted OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.75, 3.55; P for trend < 0.0001). Further adjustment for body mass index bolstered the association.