Blood polyphenol concentrations and differentiated thyroid carcinoma in women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  • Raul Zamora-Ros
  • Leila Lujan-Barroso
  • David Achaintre
  • Silvia Franceschi
  • Cecilie Kyro
  • Kim Overvad
  • Therese Truong
  • Lucie Lecuyer
  • Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault
  • Verena Katzke
  • Theron S. Johnson
  • Matthias B. Schulze
  • Antonia Trichopoulou
  • Eleni Peppa
  • Carlo La Vechia
  • Giovanna Masala
  • Valeria Pala
  • Salvatore Panico
  • Rosario Tumino
  • Fulvio Ricceri
  • Guri Skeie
  • J. Ramon Quiros
  • Miguel Rodriguez-Barranco
  • Pilar Amiano
  • Maria-Dolores Chirlaque
  • Eva Ardanaz
  • Martin Almquist
  • Joakim Hennings
  • Roel Vermeulen
  • Nicholas J. Wareham
  • Tammy Y. N. Tong
  • Dagfinn Aune
  • Graham Byrnes
  • Elisabete Weiderpass
  • Augustin Scalbert
  • Sabina Rinaldi
  • Antonio Agudo

Background: Polyphenols are natural compounds with anticarcinogenic properties in cellular and animal models, but epidemiological evidence determining the associations of these compounds with thyroid cancer (TC) is lacking.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relations between blood concentrations of 36 polyphenols and TC risk in EPIC (the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition).

Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted on 273 female cases (210 papillary, 45 follicular, and 18 not otherwise specified TC tumors) and 512 strictly matched controls. Blood polyphenol concentrations were analyzed by HPLC coupled to tandem MS after enzymatic hydrolysis.

Results: Using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression models, caffeic acid (ORlog2: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.93) and its dehydrogenated metabolite, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (ORlog2: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.71, 0.99), were inversely associated with differentiated TC risk. Similar results were observed for papillary TC, but not for follicular TC. Ferulic acid was also inversely associated only with papillary TC (ORlog2: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.91). However, none of these relations was significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. No association was observed for any of the remaining polyphenols with total differentiated, papillary, or follicular TC.

Conclusions: Blood polyphenol concentrations were mostly not associated with differentiated TC risk in women, although our study raises the possibility that high blood concentrations of caffeic, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic, and ferulic acids may be related to a lower papillary TC risk.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume113
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)162-171
Number of pages10
ISSN0002-9165
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Research areas

  • polyphenol, biomarkers, thyroid cancer, EPIC, nested case-control study, URINARY-EXCRETION, FERULIC ACID, RISK, METABOLITES, BIOMARKERS, MARKERS, DIET

ID: 256209463