Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the common malignant tumors worldwide.
In the United States, the age-standardized incidence rates of NHL per 100,000 persons in 2008 were 16.3 in men and 11.5 in women. The National Cancer Institute previously predicted that ~65,540 people would be diagnosed with NHL in 2010, representing the fifth most common malignancy, and 20,210 people would die of this disease.
While the incidence of NHL inJapanhas almost doubled in the last three decades, these are nevertheless less than half those in Western countries. It is suspected both underlying medical conditions and environmental factors are related to the development of this cancer.
Medical conditions associated with the development of NHL include immunosuppression, various infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), autoimmune disorders, family history of hematopoietic malignancy, obesity, and smoking.
Meat and saturated fat have positive association to the risk of NHL, whereas high vegetable intake reduces the risk of NHL.
Now a study conducted in Japan has confirmed that soy intake can reduced the risk of NHL in women. The study evaluated the soy consumption of 302 patients and 1510 control subjects. The consumption of soy intake was classified as low (<27 g/day), moderate (27-51 g/day) and high (>51 g/day).
The results indicated that moderate and high soy intake was significantly associated with a reduced risk of NHL (36% and 34% reduction respectively) in women, but not in men.
If you are a woman and would like to prevent NHL, you might like to include soy in your daily diet!
Source: Annals of Oncology, 2011
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