Food Groups and Alcoholic Beverages and the Risk of Stomach Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Italy

Abstract

To investigate the role of a wide range of foods and beverages on the risk of stomach cancer, we analyzed data from a case-control study carried out in Italy between 1997 and 2007 on 230 subjects with incident histologically confirmed stomach cancer (143 men and 87 women, age range 22–80 yr) and 547 controls (286 men and 261 women, age range 22–80 yr) admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic diseases. Odds ratios (OR) of stomach cancer and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex, energy intake, and other selected variables. A direct association with stomach cancer risk was observed for cereals (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.01–4.24, for the highest compared to the lowest quintile of intake, P for trend = 0.03), soups (OR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.10–3.42, P for trend = 0.05), and potatoes (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.05–3.98, P for trend = 0.04). Conversely, inverse trends in risk were observed with vegetables (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.27–0.81, P for trend = 0.01) and fruit intake (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.30–0.93, P for trend = 0.08). The results of this study confirm a protective role of vegetables and fruit against stomach cancer and suggest a detrimental effect of (refined) cereals on this neoplasm.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was conducted with the contribution of the Italian Association for Cancer Research, the Italian League against Cancer, and the Italian Ministry of Education (PRIN 2005). The work in this article was undertaken while C. La Vecchia was a senior fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. P. Bertuccio was supported by a fellowship from the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research. We thank Ms. I. Garimoldi for editorial assistance.

Notes

^a The sum does not add up to the total because of some missing values.

^b In first-degree relatives.

^a The sum does not add up to the total because of some missing values.

^a ORs are estimates from unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, education, year of interview, body mass index, tobacco smoking, family history of stomach cancer, and total energy intake.

^b Reference category.

^a ORs are estimates from unconditional logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, education, year of interview, body mass index, smoking status, family history of stomach cancer, and total energy intake. Continuous OR for an increment equal to 1 daily serving.