title: Vitamin D3 and beta-carotene deficiency is associated with risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma - results of a case-control study in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to evaluate roles of vitamin D3 (VD3) and beta-carotene (BC) in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in a high-risk area, Huai'an District, Huai'an City, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  100 new ESCC diagnosed cases from 2007 to 2008 and 200 residency- age-, and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Data were collected from questionnaires, including a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to calculate the BC intake, and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to measure the serum concentrations of BC and VD3. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated in conditional logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average dietary intake of BC was 3322.9 μg (2032.4- 5734.3) in the case group and 3626.8 μg (1961.9-5827.9) in control group per capita per day with no significant difference by Wilcoxon test (p>0.05). However, the levels of VD3 and BC in the case group were significantly lower than in the control group (p<0.05). The OR values of the highest quartile and the lowest quartile of VD3 and BC in serum samples were both 0.13.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results add to the evidence that high circulating levels of VD3 and BC are associated with a reduced risk of ESCC in this Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, and Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China E-mail : guiju.sun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gui-Ling
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Shao-Kang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Jia-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Gui-Ju
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D019207:beta Carotene; D002762:Cholecalciferol