Cancer Epidemiology Division researchers have found that keeping a healthy diet could lower your risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
There is growing evidence that dietary patterns are associated with inflammation in the body, and inflammation contributes to the development of specific types of malignancies such as colorectal, liver, and ovarian cancer. However, little is known about the effect of diet on risk of pancreatic cancer.
Cancer Epidemiology Division researchers Dr Nina Afshar and Prof Roger Milne led a team that used Health 2020 data to assess possible links with pancreatic cancer risk for three measures of diet quality.
One was the Dietary Inflammatory Index which was developed based on current evidence of the effect of specific elements of diet on inflammatory markers in the blood. A higher score indicates a ‘pro- inflammatory’ diet, which would be considered less healthy.
Another measure considered was the Mediterranean diet score, for which higher scores are driven by higher consumption of legumes and nuts, wholegrain cereals, olive oil and fruits and vegetables, high-to-moderate intake of fish, moderate alcohol consumption, low-to-moderate intake of dairy products (such as cheese and yogurt), and low consumption of meat, poultry and saturated fat.
The third measure assessed was the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) which was developed based on available evidence of food and nutrients associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases. A higher score indicates a healthier diet, driven by greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, legumes and nuts, whole grains, polyunsaturated fatty acids and long chain omega-3 fats, and low intake of trans fat, alcohol, juices and sugar-sweetened beverages, red and processed meat, and sodium and trans-fatty acids.
The researchers found that a higher score on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index was associated with lower risk of pancreatic cancer. Weaker but consistent associations were observed for the Dietary Inflammatory Index and Mediterranean diet score, suggesting potential public health benefits from following a healthy diet.
Inflammation and biomarkers of inflammation
Inflammation is a natural response and defence mechanism by the body to protect itself from injury and infection. There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic.
Any injury or physical trauma creates acute inflammation (generally lasting only for a few days) due to the activation of immune responses in the body to repair the damaged tissue. A longer duration of inflammatory response is called chronic inflammation, which can be assessed by the measurement of inflammatory markers circulating in blood.
Chronic inflammation can also arise due to deleterious substances and toxins in the body from prolonged exposure to tobacco smoking, alcoholic beverages, excess fat cells in the body, or poor diet. This chronic inflammation can damage DNA, cells, tissues and organs, potentially causing cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Reference
Afshar N, Hodge AM, Shivappa N, Hébert JR, Giles GG, English DR, Milne RL. Dietary Inflammatory Index, Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010, Mediterranean Diet Score and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Cancer Epidemiol. 2022; 82:102295. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36395705/.