Food and nutrient intakes and K-ras mutations in exocrine pancreatic cancer

No studies have investigated the relation between K-ras mutations and dietary factors in exocrine pancreatic cancer (EPC), and fewer than 10 studies have done so in other neoplasms.

Incident cases of EPC were prospectively identified, and interviewed face-to-face during hospital admission. Food and nutrient intakes were measured with a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to compare EPC cases (n = 107) with and without K-ras mutations (case-case study).

K-ras mutations were more common among daily consumers of milk and other dairy products than among non-daily consumers: the odds ratio adjusted by total energy, age, sex, smoking, alcohol and coffee consumption (ORa) was 5.1 (95% CI 1.1 to 24.5, p = 0.040). For all dairy products, including butter, the ORa for the medium and upper tertiles of intake were 5.4 and 11.6, respectively (p for trend = 0.023). The ORa for regular coffee drinkers further adjusted by dairy consumption was 4.7 (95% CI 1.1 to 20.7, p = 0.043). K-ras mutated cases reported a lower intake of vitamin E (ORa = 0.2, p for trend = 0.036), polyunsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids (ORa = 0.2; p for trend <0.03).

Results support the hypothesis that in EPC exposure to specific dietary components or contaminants may influence the occurrence or persistence of K-ras mutations.