Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the dietary factors related to the incidence of stomach and colon cancers in Korean. The subjects were 139 stomach and 52 colon cancer patients recruited from 3 general hospitals in Seoul. Food intake, anthropometric measurement, and blood compositions were studied through personal interview and using medical records. Body weight, body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness, body muscle mass of the subjects were lower than reference values. The body weight was reduced after the onset of the illness, which suggests body waste due to the cancers. The patients showed the lower valuies of hemoglobin and hematocrit. Serum protein and calcium were at lower limit of the normal range. Therefore the untritional status assessed by anthropometry and blood composition should be said to be marginal. The average intake of most of the nutrients except Ca of the subjects met the RDA, but the range was wide and the nutrient intake of large proportion of the subjects feel below 75% of RDA. The food intake of egg, milk, legumes, and fruts were lower than national average, on the other hand the subjects had higher intake of meat, vegetables, and fats. The subjects drank and smoked heavily, stomach cancers being more severs. From this results, dietary risk factors for the stomach and colon cancers in Korean did not agree with the reports of western societies. Even though the intakes of meat and animal food of colon cancer patients can not be classified as high, it was higher than stomach cancer and national average. Therefore it could be concluded that with increasing consumption of animal food, the incidence of colon cancer would be increased in Korea.

Keywords

• stomach cancer;
• colon cancer;
• anthropometric measurement;
• blood composition;
• food intake