EAT-Lancet Diet Pattern, Genetic Predisposition, Inflammatory Biomarkers, and Risk of Lung Cancer Incidence and Mortality

ScopeThe association between a planetary and sustainable EAT-Lancet diet and lung cancer remains inconclusive, with limited exploration of the role of genetic susceptibility and inflammation.Methods and resultsThe study includes 175 214 cancer-free participants in the UK Biobank. Fourteen food components are collected from a 24-h dietary recall questionnaire. A polygenic risk score is constructed through capturing the overall risk variants for lung cancer. Sixteen inflammatory biomarkers are assayed in blood samples. Participants with the highest EAT-Lancet diet scores (>= 12) have a lower risk of lung cancer incidence (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51-0.80) and mortality (HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.48-0.88), compared to those with the lowest EAT-Lancet diet scores (<= 8). Interestingly, there is a significantly protective trend against both lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma with higher EAT-Lancet diet scores. Despite no significant interactions, a risk reduction trend for lung cancer is observed with increasing EAT-Lancet diet scores and decreasing genetic risk. Ten inflammatory biomarkers partially mediate the association between the EAT-Lancet diet and lung cancer risk.ConclusionThe study depicts a lower risk of lung cancer conferred by the EAT-Lancet diet associated with lower inflammation levels among individuals with diverse genetic predispositions. This study investigates the association between the EAT-Lancet diet, genetic susceptibility, inflammation, and lung cancer based on the UK Biobank database. After a median follow-up of 9.5 years, the study found that higher adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet is associated with a lower risk of lung cancer incidence and mortality. A risk reduction trend for lung cancer is ascribed to increasing EAT-Lancet diet scores and decreasing genetic risk. The effect of diet scores seems to be more evident within the intermediate or high PRS group, but not in the low PRS group. Inflammation partially mediates the association between the EAT-Lancet diet and lung cancer risk. image