BREAKING! U.S. NIH And Brown University Study Discovers That High Consumption Of Tuna and Non-Fried Fish Increases Risk Of Melanoma Cancer!

Surprising findings have emerged following a new study by researchers from Brown University-USA and the National Cancer Institute which of part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health-Maryland, in which it was discovered that diets rich in tuna and non-fried fish increases the risk of developing malignant melanoma cancers!


Tuna Sashimi
 
According to the study team, previous epidemiological studies evaluating the association between fish intake and melanoma risk have been few and inconsistent. Few studies distinguished different types of fish intake with risk of melanoma.
 
The study team examined the associations between intake of total fish and specific types of fish and risk of melanoma among 491,367 participants in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The stud team used multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
 
It was found that during 6,611,941 person-years of follow-up with a median of 15.5 years, a total of 5,034 cases of malignant melanoma and 3,284 cases of melanoma in situ were identified. There was a positive association between higher total fish intake and risk of malignant melanoma (HR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.11–1.34 for top vs. bottom quintiles, ptrend = 0.001) and melanoma in situ (HR = 1.28, CI = 1.13–1.44 for top vs. bottom quintiles, ptrend = 0.002). The positive associations were consistent across several demographic and lifestyle factors.
 
Importantly, there was a positive association between tuna intake and non-fried fish intake, and risk of malignant melanoma and melanoma in situ.
 
Strangely, fried fish intake was inversely associated with risk of malignant melanoma, but not melanoma in situ.
 
The study team found that higher total fish intake, tuna intake, and non-fried fish intake were positively associated with risk of both malignant melanoma and melanoma in situ.
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Cancer Causes and Control.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10552-022-01588-5
 
Corresponding author Dr Eunyoung Cho, an associate professor at Brown School of Public Health and also works at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School told Thailand Medical News, “Melanoma is currently the fifth most common cancer in America and the risk of developing melanoma over a lifetime is one in 38 for white people, one in 1,000 for Black people, and one in 167 for Hispanic people. Although fish intake has increased in the USA and Europe in recent decades, the results of previous studies investigating associations between fish intake and melanoma risk have been inconsistent.”
 
She added, “Our research findings show an association between high consumption of tuna and non-fried fish and increased risk of developing malignant melanoma and the findings warrants further investigation.”
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Surprisingly, the study findings showed that the incidence of malignant melanoma was 22% greater among individuals whose median daily consumption of fish was 42.8 grams as compared to those whose median daily intake was 3.2 grams.
 
Furthermore, the study findings showed that individuals with a median daily consumption of 42.8 grams of fish had a 28% higher chance than those with a median daily intake of 3.2 grams of fish of having abnormal cells in just the outer layer of the skin, often known as stage 0 melanoma or melanoma in situ.
 
It should be noted that an average serving of cooked fish weighs around 140 grams.
 
The research team analyzed data from 491,367 people who were recruited from all across the USA to the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study between 1995 and 1996 to investigate the association between fish consumption and melanoma risk. Participants, who on average were 62 years old, answered questions on their consumption patterns and portion sizes of fried, non-fried, and tuna throughout the previous year.
 
Utilizing data from cancer registries, the study team determined the incidence of new melanomas that appeared during a median period of 15 years.
 
The study team also took into consideration the individuals’ BMI, degree of physical activity, history of smoking, daily calorie and caffeine consumption, family history of cancer, and the average UV radiation exposure in their neighborhood.
 
It was found that during the research period, 5,034 participants (1.0%) developed malignant melanoma and 3,284 (0.7%) developed stage 0 melanoma.
 
The study findings clearly showed that a higher intake of non-fried fish and tuna was associated with increased risks of malignant melanoma and stage 0 melanoma.
 
The study data showed that those whose median daily tuna intake was 14.2 grams had a 20% higher risk of malignant melanoma and a 17% higher risk of stage 0 melanoma, compared to those whose median daily tuna intake was 0.3 grams.
 
The findings also showed that a median intake of 17.8 grams of non-fried fish per day was associated with an 18% higher risk of malignant melanoma and a 25% higher risk of stage 0 melanoma, compared to a median intake of 0.3 grams of non-fried fish per day.
 
Interestingly, the study team did not identify significant associations between consumption of fried fish and the risk of malignant melanoma or stage 0 melanoma.
 
Dr Cho added, “We speculate that our study findings could possibly be attributed to contaminants in fish, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, arsenic, and mercury. Past studies have found that higher fish intake is associated with higher levels of these contaminants within the body and has identified associations between these contaminants and a higher risk of skin cancer. However, we note that research did not investigate the concentrations of these contaminants in participants’ bodies and so further research is needed to confirm this relationship.”
 
The study team did however caution that the observational nature of their study does not allow for immediate conclusions about a causal relationship between fish intake and melanoma risk. They also did not account for some risk factors for melanoma, such as mole count, hair color, history of severe sunburn, and sun-related behaviors in their analyses.
 
The study team suggested that further studies are warranted to investigate the components of fish that could contribute to the observed association between fish intake and melanoma risk and any biological mechanisms underlying this.
 
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