Background: Breast cancer in women and lung cancer in men are the most prevalent cancers in Poland and worldwide. Evidence of the impact of food groups and nutrients on the risk of breast and lung cancer is limited and lacking conclusions. Studies on food consumption and breast or lung cancer are limited.
Objectives: Assessment of the association between dietary patterns and the prevalence of breast and lung cancers in adult Poles.
Material and methods: The study involved a pooled analysis of 2 case-control studies on 320 subjects aged 50-70 years from north-eastern Poland (160 women, 160 men). Breast cancer cases in 80 women and lung cancer cases in 80 men were diagnosed. The food consumption frequency for 21 selected foods was collected using the Questionnaire of Eating Behaviors (QEB). Principal component analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were used. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated.
Results: Three dietary patterns (DPs) were identified: 'Prudent', 'Processed & fast food', and 'Traditional Polish'. In the pooled analysis for both cancers, the ORs were from 0.35 (95% CI: 0.20-0.61; p < 0.05 with adjustment for age) to 0.48 (95% CI: 0.26-0.88; p < 0.05 with adjustment for age, socioeconomic status index, physical activity, smoking, and abuse of alcohol) in the upper tertile of the 'Prudent' DP in comparison to the absence of cancers (OR = 1.00). The ORs of both cancers were 1.83 (95% CI: 1.06-3.16; p < 0.05 with adjustment for age) in the upper tertile of the 'Processed & fast food' DP. The ORs of both cancers for the 'Traditional Polish' DP were insignificant.
Conclusions: In the pooled analysis, a strong inverse relation was found between the 'Prudent' dietary pattern, characterized by higher frequency of dairy, fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, fish and juices consumption, and breast or lung cancer prevalence, irrespective of age, socioeconomic status, physical activity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and type of cancer in Polish adults from north-eastern Poland.
Keywords: PCA; adults; breast cancer; dietary patterns; lung cancer.