Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Establishment of a Human Multiple Myeloma Xenograft Model in the Chicken to Study Tumor Growth, Invasion and Angiogenesis
Published on: May 1, 2015
Dietary Pattern and Risk of Multiple Myeloma in Two Large Prospective US Cohort Studies
Dong Hoon Lee1, Teresa T Fung1,2, Fred K Tabung1,3
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Background:
The limited data on specific dietary components and risk of multiple myeloma (MM) show no consistent association. Studies have not examined the association of dietary pattern with MM risk.
Methods:
In prospective cohorts of 69 751 women (Nurses' Health Study, 1984-2014) and 47 232 men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 1986-2014), we examined the association between dietary pattern and risk of MM using Cox proportional hazard models. Diet was assessed repeatedly every 4 years with food frequency questionnaires and was used to calculate dietary patterns including the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010, Alternate Mediterranean Diet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, Prudent and Western patterns, the empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP), and empirical dietary indices for insulin resistance (EDIR) and hyperinsulinemia (EDIH).
Results:
During 2 792 257 person-years of follow-up, we identified 478 incident MM cases (215 women, 263 men). In men, high EDIP was statistically significantly associated with a 16% increase in MM risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02 to 1.32 per 1-SD increase). Moreover, EDIR and EDIH had a suggestive positive association (EDIR: HR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.96 to 1.24; and EDIH: HR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.97 to 1.28 per 1-SD increase). We observed no other associations with MM risk in men and no associations for any dietary pattern with MM risk in women.
Conclusions:
We present the first evidence for a role of diets with higher inflammatory or insulinemic potential in MM development. Further studies are warranted to explore these associations in other populations, including the apparent restriction to men.
Related Concept Videos
¹H NMR Signal Multiplicity: Splitting Patterns
Dietary Connections
Bioavailability Study Design: Single Versus Multiple Dose Studies
Proteins: Dietary Sources and Requirements
Relative Risk
Carbohydrates: Dietary Sources and Requirements

