WASHINGTON, Nov 1, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Regular use of vitamin C supplements may reduce one's risk of developing some forms of stomach cancer, researchers reported in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

These findings, from researchers at Yale University's School of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute, and several other prestigious institutions, are from an analysis of a large, three-region case-control study involving 1,095 Americans diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus or stomach and 687 controls without cancer.

"Our study suggests that taking a vitamin C supplement on a regular basis may protect against certain types of stomach cancer," said Dr. Susan Mayne of Yale University School of Medicine and the lead investigator of the study. "We found vitamin C supplement users to have a 40% lower risk of cancer in the middle and lower parts of the stomach."

Vitamin C has long been known to inhibit the formation of cancer causing chemicals that can form in the stomach from dietary nitrites, found in smoked and cured foods. The authors also cited a dozen, previous epidemiological studies linking vitamin C with a protective effect.

"Vitamin C supplement users may differ from non-users in other behaviors that might reduce the risk of stomach cancer; therefore, it is not certain that the supplement per se was responsible for the observed benefit. However, vitamin C supplement users were not at lower risk of the other types of cancers we studied, suggesting a specific effect on stomach cancer that is consistent with known mechanisms of action for vitamin C," added Dr. Mayne.

In this study, the largest of its kind to date, vitamin C use was defined as taking a supplement at least once a week for a minimum period of six months. Many of the subjects were unable to recall the actual doses used so the study did not provide supplement amounts. Those with higher dietary vitamin C intakes (from plant-based diets) also showed reduced risk of both stomach and esophageal cancer. "Our results support the hypothesis that vitamin C supplementation reduces the risk of cancer in the middle and lower parts of the stomach. However, definitive proof of this hypothesis would require a randomized clinical trial," stated Dr. Robert Dubrow of Yale University School of Medicine and a co-author of the paper.

"Generous intakes of vitamin C have been associated with a lower risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract in studies from around the world," noted Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, Professor of Nutrition at Tufts University. "This new study indicates that obtaining this antioxidant vitamin from supplements as well as food could be a good cancer-fighting strategy in the United States."

The U.S. Public Health Service and the National Cancer Institute funded the study.

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