Dietary habits and lung cancer risk among Polish women.

The purpose of this case-control study was to examine the effect of usual diet, in relation to other risk factors, on the risk of different histologic types of lung cancer in women. A total of 242 women with histologically confirmed primary lung cancer and 352 healthy controls were enrolled in a study conducted in Cracow between 1991 and 1997. A multivariate analysis showed that frequent consumption of carrots (at least five times a week) significantly lowered the risk of lung cancer. The protective effects of carrots were statistically significant for squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. It was found that daily consumption of other vegetables had a significant protective effect against squamous cell carcinoma, and for all histologic types combined. Furthermore, a significantly reduced risk was observed in women who consumed margarine (at least three times a week). This effect was observed for all cell types. The results also suggest that frequent consumption of carrots and frequent consumption of margarine can have a protective influence against lung cancer irrespective of the number of cigarettes smoked and the amount of vodka drunk.