Veggie Intake Reduces Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

BETHESDA, Md.--Greater intake of nutrients from certain vegetables may reduce the risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), according to the results of a case-control study coordinated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (Am J Clin Nutr, 83, 6:1401-10, 2006). Working from the idea that DNA damage and altered immune response are associated with the risk of NHL, researchers identified incident case subjects (n=466) and recruited matched controls (n=391) for age, race and sex from four different U.S. cancer research centers. NHL risk was inversely associated with higher intake of all vegetables (multivariable odds ratio for highest to lowest quartile, 0.58); with green leafy vegetables (OR 0.62); and with greater daily intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin (OR 0.58) and zinc (OR 0.58).