Study on the Association of Vegetarian Diet with Colorectal Tumor Using Diet Analysis, Proteomics and Genetic Polymorphisms

Colorectal cancer is the form of cancer most closely associated with diet. It may be possible to prevent the occurrence of this cancer by dietary modification. Vegetarian diet is consisted of grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables and fruits, which is rich in dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. The health effects of vegetarian diet have been widely reported. However, limited data has been reported about the effect of vegetarian diet on colorectal cancer. In addition, these studies were conducted in Western countries. This study was design to investigate the association of vegetarian diet with colorectal tumor using diet analysis, proteomics, and genetic polymorphisms. We want to confirm the health-promoting effect of vegetarian diet, to understand the interaction between diet and gene, and to discover biomarkers related to colorectal tumor. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire will be used to assess the dietary intake and the association of vegetarian diet with colorectal tumor. The proteomics consisted of 2-dimensional electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and database will be used to analyze the relationship between protein expression and colorectal tumor, and to realize the effect of vegetarian diet on protein expression. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) will be used to investigate the colorectal tumor-related genetic polymorphisms (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) based on a case-control study, and to understand the interaction between diet and gene. This study will be contributed to know the association of vegetarian diet with colorectal tumor.