(OR25-07-23) Abbreviated Score To Assess Adherence to the 2018 WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations and Risk of Cancer in the UK Biobank Cohort

Objectives: The WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations are lifestyle-based recommendations which aim to reduce cancer risk. This study investigated associations between an abbreviated score to assess adherence to the 2018 Cancer Prevention Recommendations and the risk of all invasive cancers and of 14 specific cancers for which there is strong evidence for links with diet, adiposity, and physical activity.

Methods: We included 288,702 participants (51% female, mean age 56 years) from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. We created an abbreviated score to assess adherence to five recommendations: body weight, physical activity, intake of fruits, vegetables and fibre, intake of red and processed meats, and alcohol consumption. Scores ranged from 0 points (no adherence) to 5 points (full adherence). Associations between the score and cancer risk were investigated using Cox proportional hazard models, adjusting for confounders.

Results: Mean total adherence score was 2.6 (SD 0.9) points. During a median follow-up of 8.2 years, 23,448 individuals developed cancer. Each 1-point increment in score reduced the risk of all cancers combined by 7% (95% CI: 5-8%). Significant inverse associations were observed between score and risk of breast (HR per 1-point increment: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.98), colorectal (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.83-0.90), lung (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.94), kidney (HR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.90), pancreatic (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.79-0.94), endometrial (HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.73-0.86), oesophageal (HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.75-0.90), stomach (HR: 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-0.99), and liver (HR: 0.78, 95% CI 0.63-0.97) cancers.

Conclusions: Greater adherence to the Cancer Prevention Recommendations, assessed using an abbreviated version of the 2018 WCRF/AICR Score, reduced the risk of all cancers combined and of breast, colorectal, lung, kidney, pancreatic, endometrial, oesophageal, stomach, and liver cancers. Our findings provide further evidence to support compliance with these lifestyle-based recommendations for cancer prevention.

Funding Sources: This research was funded by the Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WKOF) as part of the World Cancer Research Fund International grant programme.