Objective To examine the association between fruit and
vegetable consumption and risk of different histological
subtypes of lung cancer among participants of the European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
study.
Methods Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models
were used to analyze the data. A calibration study in a
subsample was used to reduce dietary measurement errors.
Results During a mean follow-up of 8.7 years, 1,830
incident cases of lung cancer (574 adenocarcinoma, 286
small cell, 137 large cell, 363 squamous cell, 470 other histologies) were identified. In line with our previous
conclusions, we found that after calibration a 100 g/day
increase in fruit and vegetables consumption was associated
with a reduced lung cancer risk (HR 0.94; 95% CI
0.89–0.99). This was also seen among current smokers (HR
0.93; 95% CI 0.90–0.97). Risks of squamous cell carcinomas
in current smokers were reduced for an increase of
100 g/day of fruit and vegetables combined (HR 0.85; 95%
CI 0.76–0.94), while no clear effects were seen for the
other histological subtypes.
Conclusion We observed inverse associations between
the consumption of vegetables and fruits and risk of lung
cancer without a clear effect on specific histological
subtypes of lung cancer. In current smokers, consumption
of vegetables and fruits may reduce lung cancer
risk, in particular the risk of squamous cell
carcinomas.