Vegetables and fruit intake and cancer mortality in the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Life Span Study

Abstract

The association between green-yellow vegetables and fruit consumption and risk of cancer death was investigated in a prospective study of 38 540 men and women who were atomic-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Study participants completed a dietary questionnaire in 1980 -1981 and were followed-up for cancer deaths until March 1998, during which time 3136 cancer deaths were identified. Daily or almost daily fruit consumption was associated with a significant 12% reduction in total cancer mortality (RR ¼ 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80 -0.96 for daily intake compared with intake once per week or less). Daily or almost daily greenyellow vegetables consumption was associated with a marginally significant 8% reduction in total cancer mortality (0.92; 0.94 -1.01). Green-yellow vegetables consumption was associated with a significant reduction in liver cancer mortality (0.75; 0.60 -0.95). Fruit consumption was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stomach cancer and lung cancer mortality (0.80; 0.65 -0.98). Greenyellow vegetables and fruit consumption was associated with a reduction in oesophageal cancer, but these associations were not statistically significant. Neither green-yellow vegetables nor fruit consumption was associated with colorectal cancer or breast cancer mortality. These results support the evidence that daily consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of total cancer, and specifically cancers of the stomach, liver, and lung.

Diet and cancer in Northeast Brazil: evaluation of eating habits and food group consumption in relation to breast cancer

“…In contrast, reviews by Gandini et al 25 and Riboli & Norat 26 showed a protective relationship for vegetables, but not for fruits. Furthermore, other studies have shown no association for either group 27,28 .…”

Prospective study of vegetable consumption and liver cancer in Japan

“…The results of our study are consistent with those of some previous studies. 9,10,12 A prospective cohort study conducted in Japan reported that daily green-yellow vegetable intake provided an approximately 8% reduction in risk for total cancer mortality and a 25% reduction for liver cancer mortality; 9 a case-control study in Italy also showed a significant inverse association for subjects with a high frequency of vegetable consumption; 10 a cohort study of Taiwanese men showed a 4.7-fold increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in those who had a weekly vegetable consumption frequency of less than 6 meals a week, compared with those who had a frequency of 6 or more meals. This association was observed in HBsAg carriers but not in noncarriers; 12 while another casecontrol study in Greece found no evidence that vegetable intake reduces the risk of liver cancer.…”

“…With regard to liver cancer, however, we have identified only a few studies, which examined the association between vegetable consumption and liver cancer, and the results of these were inconsistent. [9][10][11][12] To contribute to clarifying this relationship, we conducted this study to investigate the association between vegetable consumption and liver cancer mortality, based on a population-based prospective cohort study in Japan.…”

Flavonoid Intake and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in Male Smokers (Finland)

“…A recent metaanalysis of case-control studies estimated that high fruit and vegetable consumption decreased the risk of pancreatic cancer by 28% and 20%, respectively (6). However, most prospective cohort studies have not shown a protective influence for fruits and vegetables on pancreatic cancer (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”