Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Aug 21:37:293-320.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-051004.

Nature, Nurture, and Cancer Risks: Genetic and Nutritional Contributions to Cancer

Evropi Theodoratou  1   2 , Maria Timofeeva  2 , Xue Li  1 , Xiangrui Meng  1 , John P A Ioannidis  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Nature, Nurture, and Cancer Risks: Genetic and Nutritional Contributions to Cancer

Evropi Theodoratou et al. Annu Rev Nutr. .

Abstract

It is speculated that genetic variants are associated with differential responses to nutrients (known as gene-diet interactions) and that these variations may be linked to different cancer risks. In this review, we critically evaluate the evidence across 314 meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized controlled trials of dietary risk factors and the five most common cancers (breast, lung, prostate, colorectal, and stomach). We also critically evaluate the evidence across 13 meta-analyses of observational studies of gene-diet interactions for the same cancers. Convincing evidence for association was found only for the intake of alcohol and whole grains in relation to colorectal cancer risk. Three nutrient associations had highly suggestive evidence and another 15 associations had suggestive evidence. Among the examined gene-diet interactions, only one had moderately strong evidence.

Keywords: breast cancer; cancer; colorectal cancer; diet; genes; interaction; lung cancer; nutrigenetics; prostate cancer; stomach cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Report.Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Breast Cancer. 2010.
    1. World Cancer Research Funds/American Institute for Canceer Research. Continuous Update Project Report. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Colorectal Cancer. 2011.
    1. World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Report:Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Prostate Cancer. 2014.
    1. World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Report: Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Stomach Cancer. 2016.
    1. Alexander DD, Cushing CA, Lowe KA, Sceurman B, Roberts MA. Meta-analysis of animal fat or animal protein intake and colorectal cancer. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89:1402–9. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources