Prediagnostic Levels of Serum Micronutrients in Relation to Risk of Gastric Cancer in Shanghai, China

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention biomarkers & prevention, 2004-11, Vol.13 (11), p.1772-1780
• Main Authors: YUAN, Jian-Min, ROSS, Ronald K, GAO, Yu-Tang, QU, Yong-Hua, CHU, Xin-Di, YU, Mimi C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol Drinking; Antioxidants - metabolism; Ascorbic Acid - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Carotenoids - blood; Case-Control Studies; China - epidemiology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Micronutrients - blood; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Smoking; Stomach Neoplasms - blood; Stomach Neoplasms - diagnosis; Stomach Neoplasms - epidemiology; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Tocopherols - blood; Tropical medicine; Tumors
• ISSN: 1055-9965; 1538-7755
• DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.1772.13.11

Data on blood levels of specific carotenoids and vitamins in relation to gastric cancer are scarce. Little is known about the relationship between prediagnostic serum levels of carotenoids other than β-carotene and risk of gastric cancer especially in non-Western populations. Prediagnostic serum concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein/zeaxanthin, retinol, α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and vitamin C were determined on 191 cases and 570 matched controls within a cohort of 18,244 middle-aged or older men in Shanghai, China, with a follow-up of 12 years. High serum levels of α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene were significantly associated with reduced risk of developing gastric cancer (all P s for trend ≤ 0.05); the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the highest versus the lowest quartile of α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene were 0.38 (0.13-1.11), 0.54 (0.32-0.89), and 0.55 (0.30-1.00), respectively. Increased serum level of vitamin C was significantly associated with reduced risk of gastric cancer among men who neither smoked cigarettes over lifetime nor consumed ≥3 drinks of alcohol per day; the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the second, third, and fourth quartile categories were 0.69 (0.28-1.70), 0.36 (0.14-0.94), and 0.39 (0.15-0.98), respectively, compared with the lowest quartile of vitamin C ( P for trend = 0.02). There were no statistically significant relationships of serum levels of β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, retinol, α-tocopherol, and γ-tocopherol with gastric cancer risk. The present study implicates that dietary carotenes, lycopene, and vitamin C are potential chemopreventive agents for gastric cancer in humans.