Diet and endometrial cancer: a focus on the role of fruit and vegetable intake, Mediterranean diet and dietary inflammatory index in the endometrial cancer risk

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common cancer in European women. The major risk factors for endometrial cancer are related to the exposure of endometrium to estrogens not opposed to progestogens, that can lead to a chronic endometrial inflammation. Diet may play a role in cancer risk by modulating chronic inflammation. METHODS: In the framework of a case-control study, we recruited 297 women with newly diagnosed endometrial cancer and 307 controls from Northern Italy. Using logistic regression, we investigated the role of fruit and vegetable intake, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), and the dietary inflammatory index (DII) in endometrial cancer risk. RESULTS: Women in the highest quintile of vegetable intake had a statistically significantly lower endometrial cancer risk (adjusted OR 5th quintile vs 1st quintile: 0.34, 95% CI 0.17-0.68). Women with high adherence to the MD had a risk of endometrial cancer that was about half that of women with low adherence to the MD (adjusted OR: 0.51, 95% CI 0.39-0.86). A protective effect was detected for all the lower quintiles of DII, with the highest protective effect seen for the lowest quintile (adjusted OR 5th quintile vs 1st quintile: 3.28, 95% CI 1.30-8.26). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that high vegetable intake, adherence to the MD, and a low DII are related to a lower endometrial cancer risk, with several putative connected biological mechanisms that strengthen the biological plausibility of this association. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-017-3754-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.