Gastric cancer, gastritis and plasma vitamin C: Results from an international correlation and cross-sectional study

Abstract

Low intake of foods rich in vitamin C is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer, and geographic variation in average vitamin C intake, therefore, could explain some of the wide international variation in gastric cancer rates. This multicentre study investigated the relationships between plasma levels of vitamin C, as an indicator of vitamin C intake, and gastric cancer rates, markers of gastritis and other socio‐demographic variables. Fasting plasma samples from about 1,400 individuals from 9 centres in 7 countries worldwide were assayed for total vitamin C using a fluorometric assay. There was no association between average plasma vitamin C levels and either gastric cancer mortality or incidence rates in the populations studied. Therefore, variation in fasting plasma vitamin C levels, as an indicator of consumption of vitamin C, does not appear to explain any of the wide geographic variation in gastric cancer rates. Furthermore, there was no association between plasma vitamin C levels and Helicobacter pylori infection, low serum levels of pepsinogen A (as a marker of severe chronic atrophic gastritis) or the presence of DNA adducts in blood leukocyte DNA. Multivariate models showed that fasting plasma vitamin C levels were associated positively with female sex, higher levels of education, never having smoked and increasing height and negatively with number of cigarettes smoked per day and increasing weight. This suggests not only that gender and tobacco smoking, in particular, are important predictors of plasma vitamin C levels but also that their effects are consistent throughout the developed world. Int. J. Cancer 73:684–689, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Relation of Serum Ascorbic Acid toHelicobacter pyloriSerology in US Adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…Most reports have not found an association between plasma ascorbic acid concentrations and H. pylori [19,21,23,24]. However, all but one of these studies [24] was conducted among a small number of subjects. To our knowledge, there are no published reports examining the relation between blood ascorbic acid status and H. pylori among a large population-based sample of Americans.…”

“…Although H. pylori has been reported to reversibly lower gastric juice ascorbic acid [19 -23], plasma ascorbic acid levels do not appear to change after successful treatment and eradication of H. pylori [19 -21]. Most reports have not found an association between plasma ascorbic acid concentrations and H. pylori [19,21,23,24]. However, all but one of these studies [24] was conducted among a small number of subjects.…”

Characterization and Selection of Balanced Sources of Variability for Breeding Tomato (Lycopersicon) Internal Quality

“…Tomato taste intensity is mainly conditioned by soluble solids (sugars, organic acids, minerals) Bucheli et al 1999), while aroma substances (more than 30 compounds) clearly affect odour and flavour perception in tomatoes (Baldwin et al 1998;Krumbein et al 1999). The nutritional value in tomatoes is related to the high content of antioxidants (mainly vitamin C (vitC) and carotenoids), since they prevent certain cancers (Knekt 1993;Byers and Guerrero 1995;O' Toole and Lombard 1996;Girija et al 1996;Webb et al 1997;You et al 2000;Jamison et al 2001), cardiovascular disease (Gey 1993;Marchioli et al 2000;Libby and Aikawa 2002) and neurological disorders (Olanow 1990;Behl et al 1992;Fahn and Cohen 1992;Lee et al 2001). The nutritional value is also related to low content of oxalic acid (OA), as that diminishes the bio-availability of calcium in the alimentary canal (Gu¨il et al 1996).…”

Mejora de la calidad nutritiva del tomate: búsqueda de fuentes de variabilidad, estudio de la influencia del ambiente y determinación del control genético

“…Las vitaminas son moléculas orgánicas esenciales para el normal crecimiento, desarrollo y reproducción de humanos y animales. Webb et al, 1997;You et al, 2000;Jamison et al, 2001), y cataratas (Van der Pols, 1999;Tessier et al, 1998;Valero et al, 2002). La participación en la síntesis de 5 Introducción colágeno es otra de las funciones conocidas de la vitamina C (Phillips et al, 1997; Libby y Aikawa, 2002).…”

“…La función más conocida de la vitamina C es como agente antiescurbuto (Magiorkinis et al, 2011). Además, la vitamina C puede jugar un papel clave en el retraso de la patogenicidad de varias enfermedades degenerativas, como enfermedades cardiovasculares Libby y Aikawa, 2002), ciertos cánceres (Byers y Guerrero, 1995;Ramaswamy y Krishnamoorthy, 1996;O'Toole y Lombart, 1996;Webb et al, 1997;You et al, 2000;Jamison et al, 2001), y cataratas ( Van der Pols, 1999;Tessier et al, 1998;Valero et al, 2002). La participación en la síntesis de colágeno es otra de las funciones conocidas de la vitamina C (Phillips et al, 1997;Libby y Aikawa, 2002).…”