DIETARY-FAT AND LUNG-CANCER - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY IN URUGUAY

To examine whether dietary fat and cholesterol modifies lung cancer ri sk, a case-control study was conducted in Uruguay of 426 men diagnosed from 1993 to 1996 with lung cancer, and 419 hospitalized frequency-ma tched controls. Dietary patterns were assessed using a 64-item food fr equency questionnaire, which allowed the calculation of total energy i ntake. After adjustment for potential confounders through a model whic h included tobacco smoking, total energy, a term for all vegetables an d fruits, and alpha-carotene intake, an increase in risk for total fat intake for all cell types of lung cancer was observed. Adenocarcinoma of the lung was associated strongly with saturated fat intake (odds r atio [OR] = 2.3, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-4.4), where as small-cell lung cancer was associated with dietary cholesterol (OR = 2.8, CI = 1.1-7.5). These results suggest that the association of sa turated fat and cholesterol could be type-specific, but the high corre lation existing between dietary lipids precludes any strong statement about this point.