Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Inversely Associated with Gastric Cancer Risk

by | Oct 16, 2023 | 2023, Cancer, Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition and Dieting

Written by Taylor Woosley, Staff Writer. Findings of the meta-analysis of cohort and case-control studies shows that high adherence to the MedDiet was associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer.

plate of vegetables and riceGastric cancer (GC), with an incidence of more than 1 million cases per year globally, is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths1. The incidence rate of GC rises progressively with age; however, approximately 10% of gastric carcinomas are detected at the age of 45 or younger2. GC has a diverse etiology, and the main risk factors include dietary factors, such as high salt intake, tobacco consumption, and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection3.

A large body of research has observed the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, as well as cancer4. The MedDiet pattern is characterized by high consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish and seafood, nuts and seeds, olive oil, moderate alcohol consumption (particularly red wine), relatively low consumption of dairy products, and red and processed meat5. The MedDiet is considered a powerful and manageable method to fight cancer incidence due to its protective effects in reducing oxidative and inflammatory processes of cells and avoiding DNA damage, cell proliferation, and their survival, angiogenesis, inflammation, and metastasis6.

Bai et al. conducted a meta-analysis to assess whether high adherence to the MedDiet can prevent GC and its subtypes. Study inclusion consisted of cohort or case-control studies, studies reporting the association between the MedDiet and the risk of GC, studies on any type of GC, and studies with adjustment of hazard ratios (HRs), relative risks (RRs), or odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. 11 studies (5 case-control studies and 6 cohort studies) were included in the final meta-analysis.

Random-effects model results show that high MedDiet adherence was significantly correlated with a reduced risk of GC (ORCC, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.63, I2 = 85.2%; ORCOH, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.77 to 0.92, I2 = 10.4%; ORobservational, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.81, I2 = 82.9%). Subgroup analysis revealed that the highest MedDiet adherence was associated with a lower risk of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) (ORCC, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.83, I2 = 86.1%) and gastric non-cardia adenocarcinoma (GNCA) (ORCC, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.79, I2 = 91.5%; ORCOH, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.94, I2 = 33.9%).

Results of the meta-analysis show that high adherence to the MedDiet was associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer. Future studies should continue to explore the benefits of the MedDiet on various forms of cancer. Study limitations include the large difference in the value of OR and HR in the included studies, the small number of included studies for analysis, and the use of a variety of MD scales which made it difficult to compare results.

Source: Bai, Xiao, Xue Li, Siqi Ding, and Dongqiu Dai. “Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients 15, no. 17 (2023): 3826.

© 2023 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Posted October 16, 2023.

Taylor Woosley studied biology at Purdue University before becoming a 2016 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a major in Writing. She currently resides in Glen Ellyn, IL.

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