High lactose whey cheese consumption and risk of colorectal cancer - The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study

Abstract

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased among Norwegian women, and is among the highest in the world. In order to understand this increase, country specific dietary exposures have been investigated. The aim of this study was to quantify the association between consumption of brown cheese, a common bread topping in Norway, and colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer in the prospective Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) Study. Data on brown cheese consumption and adjustment factors was available for 82 527 women. During a mean of 14.6 years of follow-up (1.2 million person-years), there were 1360 cases of colorectal cancer (907 colon; 453 rectal). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer sites. We modelled restricted cubic splines with 4 knots, to assess a possible non-linear relationship between brown cheese intake and the investigated cancer sites. In the age-adjusted model, consumption of more than 2 slices (>16 grams) of brown cheese per day was associated with 13% reduced risk of colon cancer (95% CI 4%-21%) compared to women who did not consume brown cheese. The multivariable-adjusted model, however, showed no association between brown cheese consumption and the risk of colorectal, colon, or rectal cancer (colorectal: HR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.76–1.13, p-trend 0.37; colon: HR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.65–1.06; p-trend = 0.10; rectal: HR = 1.16, 95% CI 0.84–1.1.61, p-trend = 0.41). In this large, prospective cohort study of women, consumption of brown cheese was suggestively protective against colon cancer. However, adjustment attenuated the inverse risk association. Brown cheese consumption was not associated with rectal cancer, or colorectal cancer overall.

Tumour regression after radiotherapy for rectal cancer – Results from the randomised Stockholm III trial

“…12,13 High intake of milk products have shown to be protective, but the association is weak and it is not clear which nutrients, i.e lactose, vitamin D or dietary calcium, that would be responsible for the risk reduction. 12,[14][15][16] Other protective factors might be high intake of dietary fibres, although the ideal source of fibre is not determined. 17 High physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk for colon cancer, but the effect on RC is not as convincing.…”

Colon Carcinogenesis: The Interplay Between Diet and Gut Microbiota

“…The association between egg intake and CRC risk is inconsistent, with some studies reporting a positive association ( Aune et al., 2009 ; Lee et al., 2009 ) while others reported a null association ( Franceschi et al., 1997 ; Järvinen et al., 2001 ). On the other hand, dairy products are associated with a decreased colon cancer risk ( Huncharek et al., 2008 ; Aune et al., 2012 ), particularly cheese and milk ( Lee et al., 2009 ; Aune et al., 2012 ; Murphy et al., 2013 ; Barnung et al., 2019 ).…”

Novel dual inhibitor for targeting PIM1 and FGFR1 kinases inhibits colorectal cancer growth in vitro and patient-derived xenografts in vivo

“…In China, the incidence of colorectal cancer has been increasing, which is common in western nations 2 , 3 . Numerous studies have shown that CRC morbidity and mortality are closely related to the following factors: genetic variants 4 , race 5 , family 6 , age 7 , 8 , high fat intake 9 , 10 , red meat consumption, obesity 11 , alcohol consumption, smoking 12 , 13 and physical inactivity 14 , 15 . Currently, surgery and chemotherapy are the main methods used for treatment of colorectal cancer 16 .…”