Dietary inflammatory index and ovarian cancer risk in a New Jersey case-control study

Diet may influence the development of ovarian cancer. Although it has been shown that inflammation plays an important etiologic role in ovarian carcinogenesis, little is known about the influence of the inflammatory potential of food consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a proinflammatory diet, as indicated by a high dietary inflammatory index (DII^®) score, on ovarian cancer risk, in a New Jersey population.

Data from a case-control study conducted in New Jersey were used to estimate the relation between DII score and the risk for ovarian cancer. The study consisted of 205 cases with incident, histologically confirmed ovarian cancer, and 390 controls identified by random-digit dialing, based on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service lists, and area sampling. Computation of the DII was based on the intake of selected dietary factors assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression models were fit to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for potential covariates.

Although there was no significant association observed in pre- and perimenopausal women, a significant association was observed between the most proinflammatory DII scores and ovarian cancer among postmenopausal women (OR_{Quartile4 vs1}, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.02-3.52; P_trend = 0.03).

Findings from the present study suggested that a proinflammatory diet may increase risk for ovarian cancer among postmenopausal women, and warrants further study to confirm this association.