Skip to main content
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1999 May 1;80(3-4):614–620. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6690400

Food groups, oils and butter, and cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx

S Franceschi 1, A Favero 1, E Conti 2, R Talamini 1, R Volpe 3, E Negri 4, L Barzan 5, C La Vecchia 4,6
PMCID: PMC2362347  PMID: 10408875

Abstract

To elucidate the role of dietary habits, a study was carried out in 1992–1997 in the province of Pordenone in Northeastern Italy, and those of Rome and Latina in central Italy. Cases were 512 men and 86 women with cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx (lip, salivary glands and nasopharynx excluded) and controls were 1008 men and 483 women who had been admitted to local hospitals for a broad range of acute non-neoplastic conditions. The validated dietary section of the questionnaire included 78 foods or recipes and ten questions on fat intake patterns. After allowance for education, smoking, alcohol and total energy intake, significant trends of increasing risk with increasing intake emerged for soups, eggs, processed meats, cakes and desserts, and butter. Risk was approximately halved in the highest compared to the lowest intake quintile for coffee and tea, white bread, poultry, fish, raw and cooked vegetables, citrus fruit, and olive oil. The inverse association with oils, especially olive oil, was only slightly attenuated by allowance for vegetable intake. Thus, frequent consumption of vegetables, citrus fruit, fish and vegetable oils were the major features of a low-risk diet for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: cancer of the oral cavity, cancer of the pharynx, diet, oil, butter

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (109.0 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Braga C., La Vecchia C., Franceschi S., Negri E., Parpinel M., Decarli A., Giacosa A., Trichopoulos D. Olive oil, other seasoning fats, and the risk of colorectal carcinoma. Cancer. 1998 Feb 1;82(3):448–453. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980201)82:3<448::aid-cncr4>3.0.co;2-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chyou P. H., Nomura A. M., Stemmermann G. N. Diet, alcohol, smoking and cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract: a prospective study among Hawaii Japanese men. Int J Cancer. 1995 Mar 3;60(5):616–621. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910600508. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. De Stefani E., Oreggia F., Ronco A., Fierro L., Rivero S. Salted meat consumption as a risk factor for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx: a case-control study from Uruguay. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1994 Jul-Aug;3(5):381–385. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Decarli A., Franceschi S., Ferraroni M., Gnagnarella P., Parpinel M. T., La Vecchia C., Negri E., Salvini S., Falcini F., Giacosa A. Validation of a food-frequency questionnaire to assess dietary intakes in cancer studies in Italy. Results for specific nutrients. Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Mar;6(2):110–118. doi: 10.1016/1047-2797(95)00129-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Doll R. The use of meta-analysis in epidemiology: diet and cancers of the breast and colon. Nutr Rev. 1994 Jul;52(7):233–237. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1994.tb01428.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Estève J., Riboli E., Péquignot G., Terracini B., Merletti F., Crosignani P., Ascunce N., Zubiri L., Blanchet F., Raymond L. Diet and cancers of the larynx and hypopharynx: the IARC multi-center study in southwestern Europe. Cancer Causes Control. 1996 Mar;7(2):240–252. doi: 10.1007/BF00051300. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Franceschi S., Barbone F., Negri E., Decarli A., Ferraroni M., Filiberti R., Giacosa A., Gnagnarella P., Nanni O., Salvini S. Reproducibility of an Italian food frequency questionnaire for cancer studies. Results for specific nutrients. Ann Epidemiol. 1995 Jan;5(1):69–75. doi: 10.1016/1047-2797(95)92893-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Franceschi S., Barra S., La Vecchia C., Bidoli E., Negri E., Talamini R. Risk factors for cancer of the tongue and the mouth. A case-control study from northern Italy. Cancer. 1992 Nov 1;70(9):2227–2233. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19921101)70:9<2227::aid-cncr2820700902>3.0.co;2-z. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Franceschi S., Bidoli E., Barón A. E., Barra S., Talamini R., Serraino D., La Vecchia C. Nutrition and cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx in north-east Italy. Int J Cancer. 1991 Jan 2;47(1):20–25. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910470105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Franceschi S., Bidoli E., Barón A. E., La Vecchia C. Maize and risk of cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus in northeastern Italy. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1990 Sep 5;82(17):1407–1411. doi: 10.1093/jnci/82.17.1407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Franceschi S., Negri E., Salvini S., Decarli A., Ferraroni M., Filiberti R., Giacosa A., Talamini R., Nanni O., Panarello G. Reproducibility of an Italian food frequency questionnaire for cancer studies: results for specific food items. Eur J Cancer. 1993;29A(16):2298–2305. doi: 10.1016/0959-8049(93)90225-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Franco E. L., Kowalski L. P., Oliveira B. V., Curado M. P., Pereira R. N., Silva M. E., Fava A. S., Torloni H. Risk factors for oral cancer in Brazil: a case-control study. Int J Cancer. 1989 Jun 15;43(6):992–1000. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910430607. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gridley G., McLaughlin J. K., Block G., Blot W. J., Gluch M., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Vitamin supplement use and reduced risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1992 May 15;135(10):1083–1092. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gridley G., McLaughlin J. K., Block G., Blot W. J., Winn D. M., Greenberg R. S., Schoenberg J. B., Preston-Martin S., Austin D. F., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Diet and oral and pharyngeal cancer among blacks. Nutr Cancer. 1990;14(3-4):219–225. doi: 10.1080/01635589009514096. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kjaerheim K., Gaard M., Andersen A. The role of alcohol, tobacco, and dietary factors in upper aerogastric tract cancers: a prospective study of 10,900 Norwegian men. Cancer Causes Control. 1998 Jan;9(1):99–108. doi: 10.1023/a:1008809706062. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. La Vecchia C., Negri E., D'Avanzo B., Boyle P., Franceschi S. Dietary indicators of oral and pharyngeal cancer. Int J Epidemiol. 1991 Mar;20(1):39–44. doi: 10.1093/ije/20.1.39. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. La Vecchia C., Negri E., Levi F., Decarli A., Boyle P. Cancer mortality in Europe: effects of age, cohort of birth and period of death. Eur J Cancer. 1998 Jan;34(1):118–141. doi: 10.1016/s0959-8049(97)00335-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Launoy G., Milan C., Day N. E., Pienkowski M. P., Gignoux M., Faivre J. Diet and squamous-cell cancer of the oesophagus: a French multicentre case-control study. Int J Cancer. 1998 Mar 30;76(1):7–12. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980330)76:1<7::aid-ijc2>3.0.co;2-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Levi F., Pasche C., La Vecchia C., Lucchini F., Franceschi S., Monnier P. Food groups and risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer. Int J Cancer. 1998 Aug 31;77(5):705–709. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980831)77:5<705::aid-ijc8>3.0.co;2-z. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lipworth L., Martínez M. E., Angell J., Hsieh C. C., Trichopoulos D. Olive oil and human cancer: an assessment of the evidence. Prev Med. 1997 Mar-Apr;26(2):181–190. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1996.9977. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Marshall J. R., Graham S., Haughey B. P., Shedd D., O'Shea R., Brasure J., Wilkinson G. S., West D. Smoking, alcohol, dentition and diet in the epidemiology of oral cancer. Eur J Cancer B Oral Oncol. 1992 Jul;28B(1):9–15. doi: 10.1016/0964-1955(92)90005-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Marshall J., Graham S., Mettlin C., Shedd D., Swanson M. Diet in the epidemiology of oral cancer. Nutr Cancer. 1982;3(3):145–149. doi: 10.1080/01635588109513716. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. McLaughlin J. K., Gridley G., Block G., Winn D. M., Preston-Martin S., Schoenberg J. B., Greenberg R. S., Stemhagen A., Austin D. F., Ershow A. G. Dietary factors in oral and pharyngeal cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1988 Oct 5;80(15):1237–1243. doi: 10.1093/jnci/80.15.1237. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Negri E., La Vecchia C., Franceschi S., Tavani A. Attributable risk for oral cancer in northern Italy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1993 May-Jun;2(3):189–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Notani P. N., Jayant K. Role of diet in upper aerodigestive tract cancers. Nutr Cancer. 1987;10(1-2):103–113. doi: 10.1080/01635588709513945. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Oreggia F., De Stefani E., Correa P., Fierro L. Risk factors for cancer of the tongue in Uruguay. Cancer. 1991 Jan 1;67(1):180–183. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19910101)67:1<180::aid-cncr2820670130>3.0.co;2-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Parkin D. M., Pisani P., Ferlay J. Estimates of the worldwide incidence of eighteen major cancers in 1985. Int J Cancer. 1993 Jun 19;54(4):594–606. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910540413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Rossing M. A., Vaughan T. L., McKnight B. Diet and pharyngeal cancer. Int J Cancer. 1989 Oct 15;44(4):593–597. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910440406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Tzonou A., Lipworth L., Garidou A., Signorello L. B., Lagiou P., Hsieh C., Trichopoulos D. Diet and risk of esophageal cancer by histologic type in a low-risk population. Int J Cancer. 1996 Nov 4;68(3):300–304. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19961104)68:3<300::AID-IJC6>3.0.CO;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Winn D. M., Ziegler R. G., Pickle L. W., Gridley G., Blot W. J., Hoover R. N. Diet in the etiology of oral and pharyngeal cancer among women from the southern United States. Cancer Res. 1984 Mar;44(3):1216–1222. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Zheng T., Boyle P., Willett W. C., Hu H., Dan J., Evstifeeva T. V., Niu S., MacMahon B. A case-control study of oral cancer in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Associations with nutrient intakes, foods and food groups. Eur J Cancer B Oral Oncol. 1993 Jan;29B(1):45–55. doi: 10.1016/0964-1955(93)90010-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Zheng W., Blot W. J., Shu X. O., Diamond E. L., Gao Y. T., Ji B. T., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Risk factors for oral and pharyngeal cancer in Shanghai, with emphasis on diet. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1992 Sep-Oct;1(6):441–448. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. la Vecchia C., Negri E., Franceschi S., Decarli A., Giacosa A., Lipworth L. Olive oil, other dietary fats, and the risk of breast cancer (Italy). Cancer Causes Control. 1995 Nov;6(6):545–550. doi: 10.1007/BF00054164. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES