Low-fat dairy intake tied to lower mortality in patients with colorectal cancer: Study

Netherlands: A recent study published in European Journal of Nutrition has shown an association of low-fat diary, both pre- and post-diagnosis, with better prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, high-fat diary was shown to have a opposite effect. 

"Higher pre- and post-diagnostic intakes of low-fat diary were tied to a reduced risk of all-cause mortality in patients with tage I-III CRC, whereas higher intakes of high-fat dairy were associated with a raises all-cause mortality risk," the researchers reported. " A higher pre-diagnostic low-fat dairy intake was associated with a reduced recurrence risk."

Higher consumption of dairy is reported to be tied to a lower risk of colorectal cancer, but no studies till now have determined its relation of recurrence in colorectal cancer. Few studies have investigated total diary with respect to mortality in CRC, and yielded inconsistent results. 

Anne-Sophie van Lanen, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands, and colleagues investigated the relation between pre- and post-diagnostic dairy intake (total, high-fat, low-fat) and specific dairy products (cheese, yoghurt, milk) with all-cause mortality and cancer recurrence in a prospective cohort comprising newly-diagnosed females and males with stage I-III CRC. 

For the study, patients with newly diagnosed with stage I-III colorectal cancer filled out a food frequency questionnaire at diagnosis (n = 1812) and six months following the diagnosis (n = 1672). The researchers examined associations between pre- and post-diagnostic intake of high-fat dairy, low-fat dairy, total dairy, yoghurt, cheese, and milk with all-cause mortality and reccurrence using restricted cubic splines (RCS) and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. 

The study showed a higher intake of low-fat dairy with a reduced all-cause mortality in stage I-III CRC patients, whereas a higher intake of high-fat dairy was tied to an increased risk of all-cause mortality, both after and before diagnosis. Additionally, a higher pre-diagnostic yoghurt intake was associated with a reduced all-cause mortality risk. 

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that higher pre-diagnostic intakes of total and low-fat dairy were tied to a reduced risk of recurrence," the researchers wrote. "Further studies should differentiate between low-and high-fat dairy when investigating associations with mortality and recurrence."

"When replicated in other large prospective cohorts and ultimately intervention studies, our results can contribute to specific dietary guidelines for survivors of colorectal cancer who aim to improve their prognosis via lifestyle change," they concluded.

Reference:

van Lanen AS, Kok DE, Wesselink E, Winkels RM, van Halteren HK, de Wilt JHW, Kampman E, van Duijnhoven FJB. Pre- and post-diagnostic dairy intake in relation to recurrence and all-cause mortality in people with stage I-III colorectal cancer. Eur J Nutr. 2023 Jul 2. doi: 10.1007/s00394-023-03201-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37393586.