Alcohol, processed meats may raise stomach cancer risk

Alcohol, processed meats -- such as hot dogs, ham and bacon -- and excess weight all may raise a person's risk of stomach cancer, a new review finds. Further, the risk seems to increase as a person drinks more alcohol, or eats more processed meats or gains more weight, the review states. It was released Wednesday by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund. The review concludes that in the United States, about one in seven stomach cancer cases could be prevented if people did not drink more than three alcoholic drinks a day, did not eat processed meat and maintained a healthy weight. That's approximately 4,000 stomach cancer cases every year.
"This is the first report to find strong evidence of these links," said Alice Bender, head of nutrition programs at the cancer institute. "There are things we can do to lower our risk for cancer. There are choices we make every day that can make a difference."
However, the report did not prove that these factors cause stomach cancer; it only showed an association. Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of death by cancer, the report stated. Just last October, the World Health Organization determined that processed meat can cause cancer.
Nearly 1 million new stomach cancer cases are recorded each year around the world, accounting for 7 percent of all new cases of cancer. The five-year survival rate is 25 percent to 28 percent, largely because symptoms only appear at a late stage, according to the report. Men are twice as likely as women to develop stomach cancer, and it is more common in older adults. The average age at diagnosis in the United States is 72, the report added.

Alcohol, processed meats may raise stomach cancer risk

Alcohol, processed meats -- such as hot dogs, ham and bacon -- and excess weight all may raise a persons risk of stomach cancer, a new review finds. Further, the risk seems to increase as a person drinks more alcohol, or eats more processed meats or gains more weight, the review states. It was released Wednesday by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund. The review concludes that in the United States, about one in seven stomach cancer cases could be prevented if people did not drink more than three alcoholic drinks a day, did not eat processed meat and maintained a healthy weight. Thats approximately 4,000 stomach cancer cases every year. This is the first report to find strong evidence of these links, said Alice Bender, head of nutrition programs at the cancer institute. There are things we can do to lower our risk for cancer. There are choices we make every day that can make a difference. However, the report did not prove that these factors cause stomach cancer; it only showed an association. Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of death by cancer, the report stated. Just last October, the World Health Organization determined that processed meat can cause cancer. Nearly 1 million new stomach cancer cases are recorded each year around the world, accounting for 7 percent of all new cases of cancer. The five-year survival rate is 25 percent to 28 percent, largely because symptoms only appear at a late stage, according to the report. Men are twice as likely as women to develop stomach cancer, and it is more common in older adults. The average age at diagnosis in the United States is 72, the report added.