Naseh Pahlavani - Department Of Nutrition, Faculty Of Medicine, Mashhad University Of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Despite decreasing incidence and mortality rates, gastric cancer (GC) still remains the fourth most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. There aregeographic and ethnic differences in the incidence of gastric cancer around the world as well as with its trends for each population over time. Due to the limited treatment options, at present, prevention islikely to be the only effective means of controlling this disease. This review presents epidemiological evidence on the association between dietary factors and gastric cancer based on previous systematicreviews and subsequent updates. The success of a prevention strategy depends upon the understanding of etiological and pathogenic mechanisms underlying gastric carcinogenesis. The etiology of GC ismulti-factorial, however, in the recent years, mounting evidence suggests that environmental factors play a key role. Infection with Helicobacter pylori is a strong and established risk factor of gastric cancer but is not a sufficient cause for its development. Substantial evidence from ecological, case- control, and cohort studies strongly suggests that the risk may be increased with a high intake of various traditional salt-preserved foods and salt per se and decreased with a high intake of fruit and vegetables, particularly fruit. However, it remains unclear which constituents in fruit and vegetables play a significant role in gastric cancer prevention. Among them, vitamin C is a plausible candidate supported by a relatively large body of epidemiological evidence. Consumption of green tea is possibly associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer, although the protective effects have been, for the most part, identified in Japanese women, most of whom are nonsmokers. In contrast, processed meatand N-nitroso compounds may be positively associated with the risk of gastric cancer. In conclusion, dietary modification by reducing salt and salted food intake, as well as by increasing intake of fruit andvitamin C, represents a practical strategy to prevent gastric cancer

Gastric Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Cancer Risks, Nutrition and Cancer