Dietary fat intake and endometrial cancer risk: dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

Epidemiological studies have provided controversial evidence of the association between dietary fat intake and endometrial cancer (EC) risk. To address this inconsistency, we conducted this dose-response meta-analysis by total dietary fat intake, based on epidemiological studies published up to the end of June 2015 identified from PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. Two authors (RH and Q-JW) independently performed the eligibility evaluation and data extraction. All differences were resolved by discussion with the third investigator (LJ). Random-effects models were used to estimate summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, the search yielded 16 studies (6 cohort and 10 case-control studies) that involved a total of 7556 EC cases and 563,781 non-cases. The summary RR for EC for each 30 g/day increment intake was 0.98 (95%CI = 0.95-1.001; I(2) = 0%; n = 11) for total dietary fat. Non-significant results were observed in plant-based fat (summary RR = 1.05, 95%CI = 0.94-1.18; I(2) = 0%; n = 5) and animal-based fat (summary RR = 1.17, 95%CI = 0.92-1.36; I(2) = 85.0%; n = 6). Additionally, the null associations were observed in almost all the subgroup and sensitivity analyses. In conclusion, findings of the present meta-analysis suggested a lack of association between total dietary fat intake and EC risk. Further studies, especially prospective designed studies are warranted to confirm our findings.