Abstract
Dietary fat intake is potentially associated with the onset of esophageal carcinoma (EC), but evidence from observational studies has remained unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the role of fat intake in the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science to identify all relevant studies. Study-specific relative risks (RR) for the highest versus the lowest intake categories and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled using a random-effects model. Seventeen case-control studies (2058 EAC cases, 1581 ESCC cases and 11696 controls) and two prospective cohort studies (494, 978 participants and 630 EAC cases and 215 ESCC cases) were identified. In EAC, the RRs (95% CI) were 1.69 (1.14–2.50) for total fat intake, 1.88 (1.28–2.77) for saturated fat (SFA) intake, 1.04 (0.86–1.27) for polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) intake and 1.70 (1.01–2.84) for monounsaturated fat (MUFA) intake. In ESCC, the RRs (95% CI) were 1.12 (0.84–1.51) for total fat, 1.38 (0.91–2.08) for SFA, 0.95 (0.55–1.62) for PUFA and 1.04 (0.65–1.66) for MUFA. In conclusion, total fat, SFA and MUFA intake were associated with EAC risk, but fat intake showed no significant association with ESCC risk. Large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Highlights
Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common cancers around the world, with two main types of squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC) [1]
Total fat, saturated fat (SFA) and monounsaturated fat (MUFA) intake were associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) risk, but fat intake showed no significant association with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) risk
Several meta-analyses have reported the association between dietary factors and esophageal carcinoma (EC) risk
Summary
Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common cancers around the world, with two main types of squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC) [1]. Multiple factors were reported in relation with the pathogenesis of EC, including smoking, alcohol, obesity, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, and hightemperature drinking [2, 3]. High intakes of vegetables and fruit have been reported in inverse association with both EAC and ESCC risk [9, 10]. Yogurt intake was inversely associated with ESCC risk, while red and processed meat intake were related with increased risk of ESCC [11, 12]. Dietary intake of fiber, vitamin C and folate showed an inverse association with both EAC and ESCC [13,14,15]. The role of fat intake is controversial in the pathogenesis of EC, and no meta-analyses have concentrated on this. As the subtypes of EAC and ESCC were different in the pathogenesis, we analyzed EAC and ESCC respectively
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