Cruciferous vegetables and cancer risk in a network of case–control studies

Background: Cruciferous vegetables have been suggested to protect against various cancers, though the issue is open to discussion. To further understand their role, we analyzed data from a network of case–control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland.
Results: The multivariate odds ratio (OR) for consumption of cruciferous vegetables at least once a week as compared with no/occasional consumption was significantly reduced for cancer of the oral cavity/pharynx (OR = 0.83), esophagus (OR = 0.72), colorectum (OR = 0.83), breast (OR = 0.83), and kidney (OR = 0.68). The OR was below unity, but not significant, for stomach (OR = 0.90), liver (OR = 0.72), pancreatic (OR = 0.90), laryngeal (OR = 0.84), endometrial (OR = 0.93), ovarian (OR = 0.91), and prostate (OR = 0.87) cancer.

Conclusion: This large series of studies provides additional evidence of a favorable effect of cruciferous vegetables on several common cancers.