[Geographical difference of mortality of digestive cancers and food consumption]

The geographical differences in mortality from cancer of seven sites of the digestive organs and consumption of foods in 46 of the prefectures, excluding Okinawa and their capital cities were statistically observed. The groups of foods statistically associated with cancer death are: pork, cooking oil and shochu (low class distilled spirits) for esophageal cancer; fresh fish, salted fish, vegetables and alcoholic beverages for stomach cancer; alcoholic beverages, salted or dried fish, vegetables, bread, milk, butter, margarine, ketchup, beer and fresh fish for colonic cancer; fresh fish, salted or dried fish, salt and popular grade sake for rectal cancer; pork, popular grade sake and green tea for cancer of the biliary passages; salted or dried fish, vegetables, alcoholic beverages, oil and fresh fish for pancreatic cancer; beef, poultry, eggs and vinegar for liver cancer. Further epidemiological analyses are required to find the biological causal relationships.