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Dietary fiber and stomach cancer risk: a case–control study from Italy

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Abstract

Objective

Fiber intake has been inversely related to stomach cancer risk, although this issue is still controversial.

Methods

A case–control study was conducted in Italy between 1997 and 2007, including 230 cases with incident, histologically confirmed stomach cancer, and 547 controls with acute, non-neoplastic diseases. Dietary habits were investigated through a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Results

Compared with the lowest quintile of intake, the multivariate odds ratios (ORs, including terms for major recognised confounding factors and total energy intake) for the highest quintile were 0.47 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28–0.79) for total fiber, 0.50 (95% CI: 0.30–0.85) for soluble non-cellulose polysaccharides (NCP), 0.39 (95% CI: 0.23–0.66) for total insoluble fiber, 0.54 (95% CI: 0.32–0.91) for insoluble NCP, 0.37 (95% CI: 0.22–0.64) for cellulose, and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.36–0.98) for lignin. With reference to the sources of fiber, an inverse association was found for fiber from vegetable (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.24–0.72), and to a lesser extent from fruit (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.38–1.10), but not for fiber from grain (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 0.77–2.03).

Conclusions

This study found an inverse relationship between stomach cancer risk and various types of fiber, derived, in particular, from vegetables and fruit.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank Mrs I Garimoldi for editorial assistance. This work was conducted with the contribution of the Italian Association for Cancer Research, and the Italian League against Cancer. The work of this article was undertaken while Carlo La Vecchia was a Senior Fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Paola Bertuccio was supported by a fellowship from the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Epidemiologia, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, Milan, MI, 20156, Italy

    Francesca Bravi, Cristina Bosetti, Paola Bertuccio, Eva Negri & Carlo La Vecchia

  2. Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria “G.A. Maccacaro”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Francesca Bravi & Carlo La Vecchia

  3. Unità di Biostatistica e Epidemiologia, Dipartimento di Statistica, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, via Bicocca degli Arcimboldi 8, Milan, 20126, Italy

    Lorenza Scotti

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  1. Francesca Bravi
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  2. Lorenza Scotti
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Correspondence to Francesca Bravi.

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Bravi, F., Scotti, L., Bosetti, C. et al. Dietary fiber and stomach cancer risk: a case–control study from Italy. Cancer Causes Control 20, 847–853 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-009-9309-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-009-9309-z

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