Independent and opposing associations of dietary phytosterols intake and PLCE1 rs2274223 polymorphisms on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk.

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the associations of dietary intake of total and specific phytosterols and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to explore their joint effects with PLCE1 rs2274223 polymorphisms. METHODS: A population-based case-control study was conducted in a Chinese rural population and 856 eligible incident ESCC cases and 856 controls were included. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary consumption and PLCE1 rs2274223 polymorphisms were genotyped. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were assessed via logistic regression model. RESULTS: When comparing the highest with lowest intake quartiles, ß-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, ß-sitostanol, campestanol, and total phytosterols were all associated with a decreased risk of ESCC, with adjusted ORs being 0.32 (95% CI 0.20-0.48), 0.18 (95% CI 0.11-0.27), 0.45 (95% CI 0.29-0.70), 0.13 (95% CI 0.08-0.20), 0.14 (95% CI 0.09-0.22) and 0.28 (95% CI 0.18-0.43), respectively. An exposure-response relationship was also observed for both total and five specific phytosterols (all P for trend < 0.001). In comparison to rs2274223 AA genotype, both GA genotype (OR: 1.47, 95% CI 1.16-1.85) and GG genotype (OR: 2.13, 95% CI 1.20-3.84) were associated with an increased risk of ESCC. However, no interaction was observed between total/specific phytosterols intake and rs2274223 polymorphisms. CONCLUSION: Higher dietary intake of total and five specific phytosterols was associated with a lower risk of ESCC, and the risk of ESCC increased with the increment of rs2274223 G allele. The negative association between phytosterols and ESCC risk was not modified by rs2274223 polymorphisms. Foods or supplements rich in phytosterols are a promising source for chemoprevention of ESCC, and still, clinical trials will be required in any specific case.

Dietary flavonoid intake and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A population-based case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this population-based case-control study was to investigate the association between dietary consumption of the total flavonoids, subclasses, and specific flavonoids and the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) among adults in a high-risk area of China. METHODS: We recruited 820 ESCC participants and 863 control participants from Yanting County. Dietary flavonoids were assessed using a validated 76-item food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression after considering potential confounders. RESULTS: Comparing the highest and lowest intake quartiles, we observed a negative association of ESCC risk with consumption of isoflavones (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.23-0.50, P for trend < 0.001), daidzein (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.21-0.45, P for trend < 0.001), genistein (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.23-0.50, P for trend < 0.001), and glycitein (OR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.22-0.48, P for trend < 0.001) after adjustment for potential confounders. A more pronounced negative association was observed when comparing the third quartile, rather than the fourth, with the lowest quartile for consumption of anthocyanidins (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.42-0.80, P for trend = 0.004), delphinidin (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.41-0.78, P for trend = 0.004), and cyanidin (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.35-0.66, P for trend = 0.003) after considering potential confounders. Consumption of total flavonoids, flavones, flavonols, and six other specific flavonoids (quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, luteolin, apigenin, and peonidin) was not associated with ESCC risk. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that increased dietary intake of isoflavones and moderate consumption of anthocyanidins were associated with a decreased risk of ESCC. Future nutritional guidelines may emphasize foods or supplements rich in specific isoflavones and anthocyanidins for ESCC chemoprevention.

Tea drinking and the risk of esophageal cancer: focus on tea type and drinking temperature.

The association between tea drinking and esophageal cancer is still contradictory. This study is to determine the association between tea drinking and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma focusing on drinking temperature and tea types. A population-based case-control study was conducted in a high esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk area in China. A total of 942 incident esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases with historical confirmation and 942 age- and sex- individually matched community controls were recruited from the study area. Trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire collected detailed information on tea drinking, diet, smoking and alcohol drinking habits. Habitual tea drinking temperature was measured with a thermometer during interviews. We analyzed the association between tea consumption, drinking temperature and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, stratified by tea type, while adjusting for other potentially confounding factors. Drinking very hot tea (>65°C) was significantly associated with the increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (odds ratio = 1.67, 95% confidential interval 1.25-2.24) relative to non-drinkers. Consumption of black tea, irrespective of the frequency, intensity and tea leaf amount, was significantly associated with a higher risk (P for trend <0.01). Compared to those who consumed <300 g/month tea leaves at ≤65°C, those who consumed more than 300 g/month tea leave at >65°C had a more than 1.8-fold higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma for both green tea and black tea. Our results provide more evidence that drinking very hot tea (above 65°C) are significantly associated with an increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Lead powder use for skin care and elevated blood lead level among children in a Chinese rural area.

To investigate the association between lead powder use, as folk skin care, and blood lead level (BLL) in children, we studied 222 children up to 14-years old living in a Chinese rural area and administered a face to face interview with their parents to collect information on lead powder use and other potential exposure. We measured children's BLL at baseline and 2 years later after an intervention. The children were divided into three categories according to their use of lead powder: regular use, irregular use and never use. We applied multivariate linear regression to determine the association between lead powder use and elevated BLL. The average BLL of all children was 18 µg/dl; 56% of them had BLL of 10 µg/dl or higher. Lead powder use was significantly associated with elevated BLL. After adjusting for potential confounders the BLL of regular and irregular users was higher than non-users by 3.11 µg/dl and 1.47 µg/dl, respectively. Duration of lead powder use was positively associated with BLL, but the time since last use was inversely associated. A significant BLL reduction was observed 2 years later, and the greatest reduction (21 µg/dl) was seen in the youngest group of regular users. This study showed that traditional use of lead powder for a skin care purpose was a major contributor to elevated BLL in these children.