Diet and stomach cancer incidence. A case-control study in Turkey

A case-control study of diet and stomach cancer was conducted in Ankara, Turkey, between December 1987 and March 1988. One hundred patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach were matched with 100 control subjects according to age, sex, and residential area. A dietary questionnaire was administered to all subjects by one of the authors. Gastric cancer patients consumed less fresh fruit and yellow-green vegetables (P less than 0.0001) and meats (P less than 0.001), and more salted food (P less than 0.001), condiments (P less than 0.0001), and salt (P less than 0.001) compared with the control group. Twenty-four percent of the gastric cancer patients and 4% of the groups with regard to the consumption of starches, fried foods, cereals, milk, dairy products, tea, alcohol, and tobacco. Stomach cancer patients brushed their teeth less frequently (P less than 0.0001) and had more deficient teeth (P less than 0.0001) compared with the control group.