Key clinical point: Salty taste preference, always using table salt, and a greater high-salt and salt-preserved foods intake are associated with a higher risk for gastric cancer.
Major finding: The risk for gastric cancer was higher with salty vs. tasteless taste preference (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.59; 95% CI 1.25-2.03), always vs. never using table salt (aOR 1.33; 95% CI 1.16-1.54), and the highest vs. lowest tertile of high-salt and salt-preserved foods intake (aOR 1.24; 95% CI 1.01-1.51). There was no significant association for the highest vs. lowest tertile of total sodium intake (aOR 1.08; 95% CI 0.82-1.43).
Study details: This study was an individual participant data meta-analysis of 25 studies including 10,283 patients with gastric cancer and 24,643 control individuals.
Disclosures: This study was supported by Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education; Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto; Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro; and others. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Morais S et al. Salt intake and gastric cancer: A pooled analysis within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Cancer Causes Control. 2022;33:779-791 (Mar 19). Doi: 10.1007/s10552-022-01565-y