A study published in the Dec 19, 2008 issue of Cancer Causes Control suggests that what you eat may affect the risk of hypopharyngeal cancer.

The Indian subcontinent is where the highest rates of hypopharyngeal cancer are found, prompting researchers to conduct the study and see if the disease has something to do with the dietary factors.

For the study, Heck JE and colleagues from International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon France analyzed data from a hospital-based case-control study of 513 incident hypopharyngeal cancers and 718 controls from four centers in India.

All the participants were surveyed for their dietary habits using a 67-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

The researchers found that among those who ever smoked or chewed tobacco, high intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with reduced risk of hypopharyngeal cancer.

Specifically, those who were in the quartile consuming the highest amounts of total fruit, curds, leafy green and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli were 63, 65, 75, 78 and 59 percent less likely to develop the cancer respectively.

The study showed similar associations among nonsmokers but not as significantly.

On the other hand, the risk of hypopharyngeal cancer was increased by 84 percent among those who used tobacco, but also drank milk every day compared to others.

The researchers concluded that diet might affect the high risk of hypopharyngeal cancer observed in India.

In the United States, an estimated 12,250 people will be diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer and 3,670 will die from the disease in 2008, according to The American Cancer Society.

The known risk factors for the disease include tobacco, HPV, alcohol, work hazards and weak immune system among others.