Skip to Main Content

An official website of the United States government

Principal Investigator
Name
Ling Xiang
Degrees
Ph.D.
Institution
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Position Title
Dr.
Email
About this CDAS Project
Study
PLCO (Learn more about this study)
Project ID
PLCO-1292
Initial CDAS Request Approval
Aug 8, 2023
Title
Carbohydrate Quality, but not Quantity, linked to reduced Colorectal Cancer incidence and mortality in US Populations: Evidence from prospective study
Summary
Summary:
Colorectal cancer (CRC) poses a significant public health challenge in the United States, with substantial morbidity and mortality rates projected for 2023(1). Among modifiable risk factors, diet plays a crucial role in CRC development(2), and carbohydrates have been identified as potential contributors(3). However, existing studies focused on overall carbohydrate quantity have produced conflicting findings. For example, an Iranian study reported an inverse association between carbohydrate quantity and CRC incidence(4), while other cohort analyses using low-carbohydrate diet scores (LCDs) yielded diverse conclusions(5,6). Some studies suggested increased colon cancer risk with animal-rich LCDs(5), while others proposed potential benefits of plant-rich LCDs in CRC patients(6). Given these discrepancies, there is a growing emphasis on evaluating carbohydrate quality alongside quantity to better understand cancer risk. However, this study did not explore potential interrelationships between these scores or conduct location-specific CRC risk analyses. Crucial aspects, including the correlation between CQI, LCDs, and CRC mortality, remain underexplored in the literature. To address these knowledge gaps, we conducted a large-scale, prospective investigation to assess the significance of carbohydrate quality and quantity, using CQI and LCDs separately, in relation to CRC outcomes among Americans. We also examined associations with specific tumor locations.
Reference:
1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Wagle NS, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2023. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (2023) 73:17–48. doi: 10.3322/caac.21763
2. Islami F, Goding Sauer A, Miller KD, Siegel RL, Fedewa SA, Jacobs EJ, McCullough ML, Patel AV, Ma J, Soerjomataram I, et al. Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States. CA Cancer J Clin (2018) 68:31–54. doi: 10.3322/caac.21440
3. Huang J, Pan G, Jiang H, Li W, Dong J, Zhang H, Ji X, Zhu Z. A meta-analysis between dietary carbohydrate intake and colorectal cancer risk: evidence from 17 observational studies. Biosci Rep (2017) 37:BSR20160553. doi: 10.1042/BSR20160553
4. Jonoush M, Fathi S, Hassanpour Ardekanizadeh N, Khalatbari Mohseni G, Majidi N, Keshavarz SA, Shekari S, Nemat Gorgani S, Torki SA, Sotoudeh M, et al. The Association Between Different Types of Dietary Carbohydrates and Colorectal Cancer: A Case-Control Study. Front Nutr (2022) 9:898337. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.898337
5. Yu Y-C, Paragomi P, Jin A, Wang R, Schoen RE, Koh W-P, Yuan J-M, Luu HN. Low-Carbohydrate Diet Score and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: Findings from the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (2023)OF1–OF7. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0683
6. Song M, Wu K, Meyerhardt JA, Yilmaz O, Wang M, Ogino S, Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL, Chan AT. Low-Carbohydrate Diet Score and Macronutrient Intake in Relation to Survival After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis. JNCI Cancer Spectr (2018) 2:pky077. doi: 10.1093/jncics/pky077
Aims

Our objective is to examine whether following the Carbohydrate Quality Index and low-carbohydrate diet scores are related with a reduced incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer and its subsites in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Collaborators

Ling Xiang Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Linglong Peng, Yaxu Wang, Haitao Gu, Yunhao Tang, et al. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.