(P30-43-26) Intake of Glucosinolates and Cruciferous Vegetables and Survival in Individuals Living With Colorectal Cancer

Objectives: We examined associations of glucosinolates and cruciferous vegetables intake with all-cause and cancer-specific mortality among individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: We followed 3,487 participants diagnosed with incident CRC from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), NHSII, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study (HPFS), and 1,574 participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Diet was assessed using validated food frequency questionnaires administered quadrennially after CRC diagnosis for NHS, NHSII, and HPFS participants, and using the Diet History Questionnaire for participants in the PLCO study.

Results: During follow-up, 2,443 deaths (1,168 CRC-specific) occurred in NHS/NHSII/HPFS and 1,073 deaths (413 CRC-specific) in PLCO. Among women in NHS and NHSII, higher post-diagnosis glucosinolate intake was associated with increased all-cause mortality (highest vs. lowest quartile HR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.22–1.73) and CRC-specific mortality (HR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.25–2.07), whereas associations in men from HPFS were weaker (P for trend > 0.05). In women, the association with CRC-specific mortality was stronger among current postmenopausal hormone therapy users (P for interaction = 0.01). Higher cruciferous vegetable intake showed similar positive associations with CRC-specific mortality among women, and these positive associations persisted in PLCO women (HR per-SD increase: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.03–1.36), but not men (HR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.87–1.14). Among healthy women in NHS, glucosinolate intake was inversely associated with estradiol levels (β per-SD increase: -0.74; 95% CI: -1.36 to -0.12), a hormone known to be associated with better CRC survival. No significant associations were observed between cruciferous vegetable intake and CRC incidence across four cohorts.

Conclusions: Higher intake of glucosinolates and cruciferous vegetables after CRC diagnosis was associated with increased mortality, particularly among women. These findings suggest cruciferous vegetables may not be essential for the secondary prevention of CRC, although further research is needed to elucidate these sex-specific findings and explore the role of estrogen metabolism in these associations of interest.

Funding Sources: Supported by National Institutes of Health Grants