A CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF GASTRIC-CANCER AND NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN MARSEILLES, FRANCE

A case-control study was conducted in Marseille (France) to investigat e the relationship between usual diet and risk of gastric cancer. Pati ents with histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma were identif ied in 8 major centres for gastric surgery. Controls were selected in specialized medical centres from patients undergoing functional reeduc ation for injuries or trauma, according to the age and sex distributio ns of the cases. The study involved 92 cases and 128 controls who were interviewed with a dietary history questionnaire on their usual diet during the year preceding first symptoms for cases, or preceding inter view for controls. Odds ratios for specific foods were calculated afte r adjustment for age, sex, occupation and energy intake. A reduced ris k was observed for consumption of raw vegetables (OR2: 0.55; OR3: 0.41 for the second and third tertiles, respectively), fresh fruit (OR2: 0 .63; OR3: 0.50), vegetable oil (OR2: 0.60; OR3: 0.52), pasta and rice (OR2: 1.06; OR3: 0.50) whereas consumption of cakes and pastries (OR2: 1.02; OR3: 2.96), sugar and confectionery (OR2: 0.96; OR3: 1.68) was associated with an increased risk. An increased risk was found for int ake of saturated fat (OR2: 1.49; OR3: 1.67), simple sugars (OR2: 1.18; OR3: 1.78) and calcium (OR2: 1.84; OR3: 2.57). A decreased risk was o bserved with intake of fiber (OR2: 0.49; OR3: 0.59), fibre from vegeta bles and fruit (OR2: 0.83; OR3: 0.53) and iron (OR2: 0.70; OR3: 0.41).