Soy and tea intake on cervical cancer risk: the Singapore Chinese Health Study

Soy isoflavones and tea catechins have immunomodulating and chemopreventive properties relevant for cervical carcinogenesis; however, there are limited epidemiologic data on the relationship of soy and tea consumption with cervical cancer risk. The aim of our study was to examine effects of soy and tea intake on cervical cancer risk among Singapore Chinese women.

The association between intake of soy and tea drinking and cervical cancer risk was investigated in a prospective, population-based cohort of 30,744 Chinese women in Singapore with an average 16.7 years of follow-up and 312 incident cervical cancer cases. Multivariable proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of cervical cancer associated with intake levels of soy and tea.

High intake of soy alone was associated with a statistically borderline significant 20% reduced risk of cervical cancer (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.61, 1.05) while green tea alone was not (HR 0.97, 95% CI: 0.76, 1.22). In stratified analysis, high intake of soy was associated with a statistically significant decrease in cervical cancer risk among green tea drinkers (HR 0.43; 95% CI 0.28, 0.69) but not among non-drinkers of green tea. The difference in the soy-cervical cancer risk association between green tea drinkers and non-drinkers was statistically significant (p for interaction = 0.004). This inverse association between soy intake and cervical cancer risk remained after further adjustment for human papillomavirus serostatus. Black tea consumption was not associated with cervical cancer risk.

These findings suggest that a protective effect of soy against cervical cancer development may depend on green tea constituents.