3691 - Association of Daily Diet and Incidence of Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study of UK Biobank Participants

Purpose/Objective(s): The associations between daily diet and head and neck cancer (HNC) still remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically investigate the relationships between different types of diet and incident HNC.

Materials/Methods: We analyzed UK Biobank data (2006-2021, n=480,577) using Cox hazards to assess diet-HNC (and its subtypes) links. Subgroup analyses by sex, age, BMI, and smoking status were conducted. Mendelian randomization (MR) based on UKB and FinnGen GWAS data probed potential causal dietary-HNC relationships.

Results: 1,163 HNC cases were identified with a median follow-up of 11.8 years. Weekly intake of dried fruit at Quartile 2-3 level (Quartile 2: HR=0.77, 95%CI: 0.66-0.9, p=0.001; Quartile 3: HR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.68-0.97, p=0.02), daily milk intake >299 mL (HR=0.71, 95%CI: 0.58-0.86, p=0.001), daily intake of coffee =1 cup (1-2 cups/day: HR=0.77, 95%CI: 0.66-0.89, p=0.001; =3 cups/day: HR=0.84, 95%CI: 0.72-0.98, p=0.025) were tied to reduced HNC risk. Whereas for risk factors, the consumption of red meat =4 times/week (HR=1.2, 95%CI: 1.01-1.41, p=0.037), non-oily fish intake = twice/week (HR=1.45, 95%CI: 1.04-2.01, p=0.027), former alcohol consumption HR=2.06, 95%CI: 1.28-3.31, p=0.03) and a frequent intake of salt added to food (HR=1.21, 95%CI: 1.04-1.41, p=0.012) were significantly related to enhancing the risk of HNC. Additionally, we observed region-specific associations between daily diet and three HNC subtypes. Moreover, the MR analysis supported causal links between lamb intake and an increased risk of OC (p<0.001), cheese intake and a reduced risk of OPC (p<0.05), as well as dried fruit intake and a reduced risk of HNC (p<0.05), and lamb intake and an increased risk of HNC (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Diet, such as dried fruit, red meat, milk and coffee intake, etc., significantly influences HNC risk, suggesting targeted dietary interventions could aid HNC prevention and treatment.