Whole Grain Intake and Survival Among Scandinavian Colorectal Cancer Patients

Abstract

To our knowledge, no studies of associations between intake of whole grain (WHG) and survival of colorectal cancer have been published, despite evidence that dietary fiber, and to some extent WHG, are associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer. Scandinavia is an area where the WHG consumption traditionally is high. We performed a case-only (N = 1119) study in the Scandinavian HELGA cohort of pre-diagnosis WHG intake (total WHG, WHG wheat, WHG rye, and WHG oats) and survival of colorectal cancer. Cox regression analyses were used to study the associations, both in categorical and continuous models, stratified by location (proximal, distal, rectum) and country. No evidence of an association was found, neither for total WHG intake (hazard ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 0.88–1.97 lowest vs. highest tertile, adjusted for age at diagnosis, metastasis status, smoking, folate, margarine, and energy), nor for specific grains. Prediagnosis consumption of WHG does not seem to improve survival of colorectal cancer in subjects diagnosed within this prospective population-based Scandinavian cohort.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to thank Knut Hansen for assistance in data set preparation, and we also acknowledge Professor Göran Hallmans, Umeå University, for support and valuable advice.