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. 1990 May;61(5):737–740. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.165

Gastric cancer in Gwynedd. Possible links with bracken.

O P Galpin 1, C J Whitaker 1, R Whitaker 1, J Y Kassab 1
PMCID: PMC1971588  PMID: 2337510

Abstract

One hundred and one histologically confirmed gastric cancer patients in Gwynedd, North Wales, were matched by sex, age and social class to two hospital inpatients without cancer. Seventy-seven of the gastric cancer cases were also matched, using the same criteria, to a patient with a confirmed cancer of a different site (excluding oesophagus). A questionnaire was used to determine bracken exposure and source of water in childhood. Residential and occupational histories were obtained and the consumption of buttermilk, a potential vector of the bracken carcinogens, was quantified. Comparison of the gastric cancer patients with the non-cancer controls indicated that exposure to bracken in childhood had an increased risk (RR = 2.34, P less than 0.001) compared to no exposure and that length of residence in Gwynedd was associated with increased risk (RR = 2.46 for durations of 61 years and over, P less than 0.01). Consumption of buttermilk in childhood and adulthood was attended by increased risk (RR = 1.61 and 1.86 respectively, the latter being statistically significant, P less than 0.05). Neither the residence effect nor consumption of buttermilk in adulthood remained significant when considered in a multivariate analysis with bracken exposure.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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