Volume 59, Issue 7 p. 1384-1394
Research Article

High glycemic index and glycemic load are associated with moderately increased cancer risk

Federica Turati

Federica Turati

Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy

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Carlotta Galeone

Carlotta Galeone

Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy

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Sara Gandini

Sara Gandini

Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

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Livia S. Augustin

Livia S. Augustin

Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

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David J. A. Jenkins

David J. A. Jenkins

Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

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Claudio Pelucchi

Corresponding Author

Claudio Pelucchi

Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy

Correspondence: Dr. Claudio Pelucchi, Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy

E-mail: [email protected]

Fax: +39-0233200231

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Carlo La Vecchia

Carlo La Vecchia

Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

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First published: 18 February 2015
Citations: 73

Abstract

Scope

To obtain an up-to-date quantification of the association between dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) and the risk of cancer.

Methods and results

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies updated to January 2015. Summary relative risks (RRs) were derived using random effects models. Seventy-five reports were evaluated in the systematic review (147 090 cases), and 72 were included in the meta-analyses by cancer site. Considering hormone-related cancers, summary RRs comparing the highest versus the lowest GI and GL intake were, respectively, 1.05 and 1.07 for breast, 1.13 and 1.17 for endometrial, 1.11 and 1.19 for ovarian, and 1.06 and 1.04 for prostate cancers. Considering digestive-tract cancers, summary RRs for GI and GL were, respectively, 1.46 and 1.25 for esophageal (squamous cell carcinoma), 1.17 and 1.10 for stomach, 1.16 (significant) and 1.10 for colorectal, 1.11 and 1.14 for liver, and 1.10 and 1.01 for pancreatic cancers. In most of these meta-analyses, significant heterogeneity among studies was observed. In subgroup analyses, case–control studies and studies from Europe tended to estimate higher RRs.

Conclusion

High-GI and high-GL diets are related to moderately increased risk of cancer at several common sites.

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