Preserved foods up death risk in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

A dietary pattern consisting of preserved vegetables, pickled vegetables, and salted meat appears to increase the risk of mortality among patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), reveals a recent study. In contrast, fish and shrimp intake may offer a protective benefit.

The research team recruited and followed 855 ESCC patients. They obtained information on diet over the past 5 years prior to diagnosis using a food frequency questionnaire and extracted dietary patterns using principal component analysis. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs).

During follow-up, 164 (19.18 percent) patients with ESCC survived. Each 25-g increase in pickled vegetable intake corresponded to a 6.0-percent higher risk of death (HR, 1.060, 95 percent CI, 1.003‒1.121) after adjusting for covariates.

When the highest tertile was compared to the lowest tertile of energy-adjusted intake, consumption of pickled vegetables resulted in a 21.9-percent increased risk of death (HR, 1.219, 95 percent CI, 1.014‒1.465), while that of fish and shrimp correlated with a 19.4-percent lower risk of death (HR, 0.816, 95 percent CI, 0.675‒0.986).

The researchers defined and labeled three dietary patterns: I, II, and III. Every 10-score increment of dietary pattern II, which was characterized by a higher loading of preserved vegetables, pickled vegetables, and salted meat, correlated with a 1.7-percent increased risk of death (HR, 1.017, 95 percent CI, 1.003‒1.032).

“Prospective studies concerning the role of postdiagnosis dietary intake in ESCC prognosis are needed,” the researchers said.