Gastroenterology
Volume 132, Issue 1 , Pages 441-443 , January 2007

Methionine Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: Digesting the Evidence

  • Albert B. Lowenfels

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress requests for reprints to Albert B. Lowenfels, MD, Department of Surgery, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York 10595. fax: (914) 594-4576.
  • ,
  • Patrick Maisonneuve

      Affiliations

    • Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

References 

  1. Hill MJ. Changes and developments in cancer prevention. J R Soc Health. 2001;121:94–97
  2. Higginson J. Cancer and environment: Higginson speaks out. Science. 1979;205:1363–13641366
  3. Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Pietinen P, Barrett MJ, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Dietary and other methyl-group availability factors and pancreatic cancer risk in a cohort of male smokers. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;153:680–687
  4. Sato N, Maitra A, Fukushima N, van Heek NT, Matsubayashi H, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, et al. Frequent hypomethylation of multiple genes overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res. 2003;63:4158–4166
  5. Li D, Ahmed M, Li Y, Jiao L, Chou TH, Wolff RA, et al. 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphisms and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14:1470–1476
  6. Matsubayashi H, Skinner HG, Iacobuzio-Donahue C, Abe T, Sato N, Riall TS, et al. Pancreaticobiliary cancers with deficient methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genotypes. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005;3:752–760
  7. Davis CD, Uthus EO. DNA methylation, cancer susceptibility, and nutrient interactions. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2004;229:988–995
  8. McCabe DC, Caudill MA. DNA methylation, genomic silencing, and links to nutrition and cancer. Nutr Rev. 2005;63:183–195
  9. van Engeland M, Weijenberg MP, Roemen GM, Brink M, de Bruine AP, Goldbohm RA, et al. Effects of dietary folate and alcohol intake on promoter methylation in sporadic colorectal cancer: the Netherlands cohort study on diet and cancer. Cancer Res. 2003;63:3133–3137
  10. Larsson SC, Hakansson N, Giovannucci E, Wolk A. Folate intake and pancreatic cancer incidence: a prospective study of Swedish women and men. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006;98:407–413
  11. Skinner HG, Michaud DS, Giovannucci EL, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, et al. A prospective study of folate intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer in men and women. Am J Epidemiol. 2004;160:248–258
  12. Larsson SC, Giovannucci E, Wolk A. Folate intake, MTHFR polymorphisms, and risk of esophageal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis. Gastroenterology. 2006;131:1271–1283
  13. Verhoef P, van Vliet T, Olthof MR, Katan MB. A high-protein diet increases postprandial but not fasting plasma total homocysteine concentrations: a dietary controlled, crossover trial in healthy volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:553–558
  14. Cohen SM, Nichols A, Wyatt R, Pollin W. The administration of methionine to chronic schizophrenic patients: a review of ten studies. Biol Psychiatry. 1974;8:209–225
  15. Chen W, Weisburger JH, Fiala ES, Spratt TE, Carmella SG, Chen D, et al. Gastric carcinogenesis: 2-chloro-4-methylthiobutanoic acid, a novel mutagen in salted, pickled Sanma hiraki fish, or similarly treated methionine. Chem Res Toxicol. 1996;9:58–66
  16. La Vecchia C, Negri E, Franceschi S, Decarli A. Case-control study on influence of methionine, nitrite, and salt on gastric carcinogenesis in northern Italy. Nutr Cancer. 1997;27:65–68

 Supported in part by grants from the C.D. Smithers Foundation and the Italian Association for Cancer Research.

PII: S0016-5085(06)02527-3

doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.11.046

Gastroenterology
Volume 132, Issue 1 , Pages 441-443 , January 2007