Nutrient intake and gastric cancer in Mexico

In contrast to the decreasing trends observed in most countries, gastric-ca ncer mortality has remained at about the same level in Mexico throughout th e last 40 years. As part of a study carried out in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, an assessment of nutrient intake and gastric cancer is presen ted here. The study population comprised 220 cases of gastric cancer and 75 2 population-based controls. Our results showed 70 to 80% reduction in the risk of developing this tumor, associated with the intake of polyunsaturate d fat, fiber and vitamin E; and this effect was independent of the histolog ical type of the tumor (i.e., intestinal or diffuse). On the other hand, an increased risk of gastric cancer was related to the consumption of saturat ed fat (ORQ4vs.Q1 = 4.37, 95% Cl 1.89-10.12) and, cholesterol (ORQ4vs.Q1 = 2.39, 95% Cl 1.23-4.64), but such effects were restricted to the intestinal type of gastric cancer. In the whole study population, monounsaturated fat intake increased the risk for gastric cancer, and a marginally significant increasing trend was observed for protein consumption. The findings from t his study add information about the role of specific nutrients in the etiol ogy of gastric cancer. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.