Iron Status and Risk of Cancers in the SU.VI.MAX Cohort

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition Vol. 135; no. 11; pp. 2664 - 2668
• Main Authors: Hercberg, Serge, Estaquio, Carla, Czernichow, Sébastien, Mennen, Louise, Noisette, Nathalie, Bertrais, Sandrine, Renversez, Jean-Charles, Briançon, Serge, Favier, Alain, Galan, Pilar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Elsevier Inc 01.11.2005; American Society for Nutritional Sciences
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Antioxidants - administration & dosage; Biological and medical sciences; cancer; Diet; Double-Blind Method; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Ferritins - blood; France - epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; iron; Iron - administration & dosage; Iron Deficiencies; iron intake; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Nutritional Status; Placebos; prospective study; Risk Factors; serum ferritin; Sex Factors; Smoking; transferrin; Transferrin - analysis; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; France; transferrin; iron; serum ferritin; cancer; iron intake; prospective study; Transferrin; Nutrition; Ferritin; Risk; Iron; Malignant tumor; Micronutrient; Risk factor; Serum; Cancer
• ISSN: 0022-3166; 1541-6100
• DOI: 10.1093/jn/135.11.2664

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relation between iron status and cancer in a population of middle-aged adults living in France where iron supplementation and iron-fortified foods are rarely used. The SU.VI.MAX study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled primary prevention trial evaluating the effect of antioxidant supplementation on chronic diseases in women aged 35–60 and men aged 45–60 y. At baseline, concentrations of hemoglobin, serum transferrin and serum ferritin were measured in 10,197 subjects. Data on dietary intake were estimated from six 24-h dietary records completed during the first 2 study years and available for 5287 subjects. All cancer cases that occurred during the 7.5-y follow-up were validated. In men, baseline serum transferrin and serum ferritin concentrations did not differ between subjects with cancers (n = 467) and those without. In women, serum ferritin was higher (P < 0.0001) and serum transferrin tended to be lower (P < 0.08) in cancer cases. Iron status was not related to cancer risk in men, but women with serum ferritin concentrations > 160 μg/L had an increased risk of cancer (odds ratio = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.05,3.35). No relation was found between dietary iron intake and risk of all cancer sites combined for either men or women. Our results suggest that iron status is not a predictor of cancer risk in men, whereas a serum ferritin concentration > 160 μg/L may be associated with an increase in cancer risk in women.