Download Update on lignans and health – results from the ELIN project

The Power of Rye congress, Mariehamn, June 7–8, 2017
Update on lignans and health – results from the ELIN project
Cecilie Kyrø1*, Anne Kirstine Eriksen1, Anne Katrine Bolvig1,2, Natalja Nørskov2, Anne Tjønneland1, Knud
Erik Bach Knudsen2 & Anja Olsen1
1
Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Department of Animal Science, AU-Foulum, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
*[email protected]
Project homepage: www.elin-research.dk
2
Lignans are a group of diphenolic compounds found especially in seeds including flaxseeds and sesame
seeds, but also whole grains, especially rye, that are a main source especially in Northern Europe.
When lignans are ingested, they are converted to enterolactone by the colonic microbiota.
Enterolactone has an estrogen-like structure, and may therefore play a role in hormone-related
cancers (breast, prostate and colorectum). Especially breast cancer has been studied, and no strong
association between enterolactone and the risk of breast cancer has been found. Few studied have
investigated the association in relation to prognosis among women with breast cancer and have
consistently found enterolactone to be associated with improved prognosis (i.e. lower all-cause
mortality, breast cancer-specific mortality). It is biologically plausible that enterolactone also is
associated with prognosis of prostate, colorectal cancer as well as other non-communicable diseases,
but this remains largely unstudied.
The main aim of the ELIN project has been to investigate the role of enterolactone in survival among
people with chronic disease (breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, heart disease and type
2 diabetes). In the epidemiological work package of the project, the association between plasma levels
of enterolactone has been associated with all-cause mortality and disease-specific mortality.
We have followed disease cases (breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, heart disease and
type 2 diabetes) from The Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort from date of diagnosis and until
censoring or end-of-follow-up. During this time, some of the cases have died due to their disease or
other causes. Cox proportional hazards models have been used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with
95% confidence intervals (CI).
Plasma concentrations of enterolactone was measured using LC-MS/MS in the following number of
cases:
- Breast cancer: 1457 cases
- Prostate cancer: 1390 cases
- Colorectal cancer: 1002 cases
- Type 2 diabetes: 1183 cases
- Heart disease (myocardial infarction): 1200 cases
Preliminary results will be presented at the conference.
Funding: Funded by Innovation Fund Denmark (Project ELIN: the effects of enterolignans in chronic
disease: 0603-00580B); and Danish Cancer Society.