Fat intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

The varied effects of different classes of dietary fatty acids on carcinoge nesis suggest that fatty acid composition is an important determining facto r in tumor development. In the present study, we investigated the associati on between dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acid intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC). Data were taken from a population-based case-c ontrol study of skin SCC in Southeastern Arizona. Our data show a consisten t tendency for a lower risk of SCC with higher intakes of n-3 fatty acids [ p (for trend) = 0.055]. The adjusted odds ratios for increasing levels of n -3 fatty acids were 0.85 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.56-1.27] and 0.7 1 (95% CI = 0.49-1.00) compared with the lower level as the referent. For t he ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acids, the odds ratios in successively higher levels were 0.88 (95% CI = 0.59-1.32) and 0.74 (95% CI = 051-1.05), suggest ing a tendency toward decreased risk of SCC with increased intake of diets with high ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acid. More studies are clearly needed t o elucidate the function of dietary fatty acids so that recommendations can be made to alter the human diet for cancer prevention, particularly in lig ht of the increasing incidence of SCC of the skin.