The consumption of chili peppers and the risk of colorectal cancer: a matched case-control study

BACKGROUND: Chili peppers have properties that plausibly could either increase or decrease a person’s risk of developing colorectal cancer, but their consumption in relation to disease risk has not been well studied. We sought to explore the association between chili peppers intake and the risk of colorectal cancer. METHODS: Eight hundred subjects (400 cases with colorectal cancer and 400 controls) were enrolled in this study. Cases were primarily colorectal cancer patients diagnosed by histopathology at the Department of Intestinal Surgery, Sichuan Cancer Hospital from July 2010 to May 2012. Controls were people receiving routine medical examinations from the Zhonghe Community Health Service Center during the same period of time. An in-person interview was used to collect demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and dietary habits of the subjects in reference to the 10 years prior to disease diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression was conducted to examine the possible association between the risk of colorectal cancer and chili peppers consumption. RESULTS: Compared with persons who consumed chili peppers ≤ 2 times per week, those who consumed chili peppers 3–7 times per week (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 0.75–2.0, P = 0.413) and > 7 times per week (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 0.84–2.2, P = 0.205) were not at an increased risk of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the consumption of chili peppers does not increase or decrease the risk of colorectal cancer. This question warrants being re-addressed in a study in which there is prospective ascertainment of dietary characteristics.