Plain language summary
Oral cancer is the most prevalent subtype of head and neck cancers. Inflammation and oxidative stress triggered by certain dietary components may be a potential mechanism for oral cancer. The aim of this study was to comprehensively assess the dose–response relationship between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and oral cancer risk. This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of five studies. The studies were all case–control studies with a total of 1,278 cases and 5,137 controls. Results show that a more pro-inflammatory diet, represented by the higher DII score, was associated with an elevated risk of oral cancer. Authors conclude that reducing pro-inflammatory food components and promoting anti-inflammatory food components would be beneficial in the prevention and control of oral cancer.
Abstract
Background: Dietary inflammatory index (DII) has been suggested to be associated with oral cancer risk. However, a quantitative comprehensive assessment of the dose-response relationship has not been reported. We performed a meta-analysis to clarify the risk of oral cancer with DII. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for relevant articles published up to 1 March 2022. Fixed- or random-effects models were utilized to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) of oral cancer with DII, as appropriate. Restricted cubic splines were used to model the dose-response relationship. Results: We included five case-control studies involving 1,278 cases and 5,137 controls in the meta-analysis. Risk of oral cancer was increased by 135% with the highest versus lowest DII level [OR: 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.88-2.94], and 79% with higher versus lower DII level (OR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.49-2.15). We found no evidence of a nonlinear dose-response association of DII with oral cancer (pnon-linearity = 0.752), and the risk was increased by 17% (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05-1.30) with 1 unit increment in DII score. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that a higher DII score was associated with increased risk of oral cancer. Therefore, reducing pro-inflammatory components and promoting anti-inflammatory components of diet may be effective in the prevention of oral cancer.
Methodological quality
Jadad score
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Not applicable
Allocation concealment
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Not applicable
