Statistical analyses on the pattern of food consumption and digestive-tract cancers in Japan

The relationships between areal differences in mortality from six digestive-tract cancers and consumption of selected foods in 46 of the 47 Japanese prefectures (Okinawa being excluded) were analyzed. Statistical analyses disclosed that the groups of foods positively associated with cancer death were as follows: for esophageal cancer, pork, oil, popular-grade sake, and green tea; for stomach cancer, fresh fish, salted or dried fish, salt, and special-grade sake; for colon cancer, bread, milk, butter, margarine, ketchup, beer, and salted or dried fish; for rectal cancer, fresh fish, salted or dried fish, salt, and popular-grade sake; for cancer of the biliary passages, pork, popular-grade sake, and green tea; and for pancreatic cancer, oil, mayonnaise, fresh fish, and salted or dried fish. These results are based on statistical analyses. Further epidemiological analyses are required to find a biological causal relationship.