Higher Methionine Intake May Reduce Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

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Higher Methionine Intake May Reduce Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Keywords: PANCREATIC CANCER - Methionine, Vitamin B6

Reference: " Methionine and vitamin B6 intake and risk of pancreatic

cancer: a prospective study of Swedish women and men, " Larsson SC,

Giovannucci E, Wolk A, Gastroenterology, 2007; 132(1): 113-8.

(Address: Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, National Institute of

Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-17177 Stockholm,

Sweden. E-Mail: susanna.larson@... ).

Summary: In a prospective study involving 81,922 Swedish men and

women aged 45-83 years, higher methionine intake was associated with

a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. During a mean follow-up of 7.2

years, 147 incident cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed. Using

proportional hazards models adjusted for potential confounders,

including age, sex, education, smoking status, BMI, diabetes, and

intakes of total energy and dietary folate, methionine intake was

significantly inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer.

Subjects in the highest quartile of methionine intake showed a 56%

reduced risk of pancreatic cancer, compared to subjects in the lowest

quartile. Among men, the highest quartile of methionine intake was

associated with a 78% reduced risk of pancreatic cancer, while among

women, the highest quartile of methionine intake was associated with

a 41% reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. No significant associations

were observed between total or dietary intake of vitamin B6 with risk

of pancreatic cancer. Thus, the authors of this study

conclude, " These findings suggest that higher methionine intake may

reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. "