Non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity and risk of gastric cancer.
BACKGROUND
Consumption of fruit and vegetables has been inversely related to gastric cancer. Two studies found that dietary antioxidant capacity has some role in explaining this association. We investigated the overall antioxidant effect from diet on gastric cancer using three measures of non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC).


METHODS
We used data from an Italian case-control study including 230 patients with incident, histologically confirmed gastric cancer, and 547 frequency matched controls admitted to the same hospitals for acute non-neoplastic diseases. A reproducible and valid food frequency questionnaire was used to assess subjects' usual diet. NEAC was measured using Italian food composition tables in terms of Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), Ferric reducing-antioxidant power (FRAP) and Total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP). We estimated the odds ratios (OR) of gastric cancer and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using conditional logistic regression models including terms for recognized gastric cancer risk factors and total energy intake.


RESULTS
NEAC was inversely related with gastric cancer risk with ORs for the highest versus the lowest quintile of 0.54 (95%CI, 0.33-0.88) for TEAC, 0.67 (95%CI, 0.42-1.07) for FRAP and 0.57 (95%CI, 0.36-0.90) for TRAP.


CONCLUSIONS
A diet rich in antioxidant capacity reduced gastric cancer risk, suggesting a high consumption of fruit and vegetables and a moderate consumption of wine and whole cereals.
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via G. Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Delphine
D
Praud
Unit of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, University of Udine, via Palladio 8, 33100 Udine, Italy.
Maria
M
Parpinel
Functional Food and Metabolic Stress Prevention Laboratory, Research Center on Agriculture, CRA-NUT, via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy.
Mauro
M
Serafini
Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 1, 171 77 Solna, Sweden.
Rino
R
Bellocco
Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Alessandra
A
Tavani
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, University of Athens, 75 M Asias Street, Goudi GR-115-27 Athens, Greece.
Pagona
P
Lagiou
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via G. Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Carlo
C
La Vecchia
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via G. Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy; Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: marta.rossi@marionegri.it.
Marta
M
Rossi
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D002523:Edible Grain; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014675:Vegetables
D000975:Antioxidants
Cancer risk; Dietary factors; Non enzymatic antioxidant capacity; Stomach neoplasms; Total antioxidant capacity