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. 2016 Mar;25(3):532-9.
doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-15-0765.

Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Lung Cancer Risk in Non-Hispanic Whites

Stephanie C Melkonian  1 , Carrie R Daniel  1 , Yuanqing Ye  1 , Jeanne A Pierzynski  1 , Jack A Roth  2 , Xifeng Wu  3
Affiliations

Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Lung Cancer Risk in Non-Hispanic Whites

Stephanie C Melkonian et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Postprandial glucose (PPG) and insulin responses play a role in carcinogenesis. We evaluated the association between dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), markers of carbohydrate intake and PPG, and lung cancer risk in non-Hispanic whites.

Methods: GL and GI were assessed among 1,905 newly diagnosed lung cancer cases recruited from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX) and 2,413 healthy controls recruited at Kelsey-Seybold Clinics (Houston, TX). We assessed associations between quintiles of GI/GL and lung cancer risk and effect modification by various risk factors. ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: We observed a significant association between GI [5th vs. 1st quintile (Q) OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.21-1.83; P(trend) <0.001] and lung cancer risk and GI(ac) (5th vs. 1st Q OR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.20-1.81; P(trend) = 0.001) and lung cancer risk. We observed a more pronounced association between GI and lung cancer risk among never smokers (5th vs. 1st Q OR = 2.25; 95% CI, 1.42-3.57), squamous cell carcinomas (SCC; 5th vs. 1st Q OR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.30-2.83), and those with less than 12 years of education (5th vs. 1st Q OR = 1.75; 95% CI, 1.19-2.58, P(interaction) = 0.02).

Conclusion: This study suggests that dietary GI and other lung cancer risk factors may jointly and independently influence lung cancer etiology.

Impact: Understanding the role of GI in lung cancer could inform prevention strategies and elucidate biologic pathways related to lung cancer risk.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest to report

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Joint Effect of GL/GI and Smoking Status
Joint effect of A) glycemic index and B) glycemic load with smoking status in lung cancer risk (p-values for all ORs are significant). Low and High are defined by the median cutoff in control Fully Adjusted Model where appropriate - Missing N = 55
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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