ESPEN 2021 Abstract Submission

Topic: Nutrition and cancer

Abstract Submission Identifier: ESPEN21-ABS-1047

PLASMA METABOLOMIC SIGNATURES REFLECTING MEAT AND FISH CONSUMPTION AND RISK OF COLORECTAL CANCER

F. Wang^*, ¹, P. Chandler ², O. Zeleznik ², A. H. Eliassen ¹, L. Liang ¹, S. Smith-Warner ¹, W. Willett ¹, E. Giovannucci ¹

¹Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, ²Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States

Rationale: Consumption of red and processed meat has been consistently associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, findings on the association between fish intake and CRC risk are inconsistent, and the evidence using objective approaches to assess meat and fish consumption is sparse. We aimed to investigate the plasma metabolites related to meat and fish consumption and assess their associations with CRC risk.

Methods: Within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHSII, and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), we examined the plasma metabolome related to intakes of total red meat, unprocessed red meat, processed red meat, total poultry, total fish, dark meat fish, and canned tuna fish among 5269 participants. Metabolomic signatures reflecting meat and fish intakes were developed, and their associations with CRC risk were further evaluated among 559 matched pairs in a nested case-control study within NHS/HPFS and 266 matched pairs within Women's Health Study (WHS).

Results: Red meat and fish groups exhibited systematic differences in plasma metabolite profiles, especially highly unsaturated lipid species. Metabolomic signatures comprising 7-55 known metabolites were developed for each meat and fish group, and were significantly correlated with the corresponding dietary intake in both NHS/NHSII/HPFS and WHS. After pooling results from NHS/HPFS and WHS, the metabolomic signatures for fish intake were all inversely associated with CRC risk: odds ratios per 1-SD increase were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.96) for total fish, 0.86 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.96) for dark meat fish, and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.97) for canned tuna fish. No significant associations were found for metabolomic signatures reflecting red meat and poultry consumption.

Conclusion: Plasma metabolomic signatures reflecting the fish consumption were inversely associated with CRC risk, supporting a protective role of fish intake in CRC prevention and indicating the promising use of metabolomics in complementing traditional dietary assessment.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: colorectal cancer, fish, metabolomics, red meat