The authors examine the problems of planning and conducting a multicentric case-control study on diet and gastric cancer in Italy. The solutions chosen for the study design, cases and controls identification, dietary interview, production of a common protocol for the field work are discussed. Results on the evaluation of the quality and comparability of collected data are presented. Further, compliance of cases and controls to the interview and to the blood and urine sampling with reasons of non-response are shown. Finally, the phases of the study and the methods for improving and controlling omogeneity among Centers are summarized.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AldersonM.: International Mortality Statistics.The Mac Millian Press Ldt., London, 1981.
2.
AmadoriD., PalliD., PadovaniF., FalciniF., BuiattiE., SaragoniA., RavaioliA.: Gastric cancer: histopathological patterns according to Lauren's classification in a high-risk area and distribution by residence. Tumori, 72: 481–486, 1986.
3.
AmorosiA., BianchiS., BuiattiE., CiprianiF., PalliD., ZampiG.: Gastric cancer in a high risk area in Italy: histopathological pattern according to Lauren's classification. Cancer, 62: 2191–2196, 1988.
4.
BazzarreT.L., MyersM.P.: The collection of food intake data in cancer epidemiology studies. Nutr. Cancer, 1: 22–45, 1980.
5.
BerrinoF., CrosignaniP., GattaG., MacalusoM., PisaniP., ViganoC.: Registro Tumori Lombardia: incidenza e mortalità in provincia di Varese negli anni 1978-1981. Notizie Sanità, 10: 11–136, 1985.
6.
BlockG.: A review of validations of dietary assessment methods. Am. J. Epidemiol., 115: 492–505, 1982.
7.
BordiniA., Di VincenzoM., SiniscalchiC., ValerianiA.: Valutazione del contenuto di selenio in alcuni alimenti abitualmente consumati in Italia. Riv. Soc. Ital. Sci. Alimen., 5: 357–360, 1985.
8.
BuiattiE.: Personal communication, 1988.
9.
ByersT.E., BarshallJ., AnthonyE., FiedlerR., ZieleznyM.: The reliability of dietary history from the distant past. Am. J. Epidemiol., 125: 999–1011, 1987.
10.
ByersT.E., RosenthalR.I., MarshallJ.R., RzepkaT.F., CummingsK.M., GrahamS.: Dietary history from the distant past: a methodological study. Nutr. Cancer, 5: 69–77, 1983.
11.
CarnovaleE., MiuccioF.C.: Tabelle di composizione degli alimenti.Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste - Istituto Nazionale della Nutrizione, Roma, 1983.
12.
CialfaE., Mariani CostantiniA.: Situazione ed evoluzione dei consumi alimentari in Italia. In: Nutrizione Umana.FidanzaF., LiguoriG. (eds.), pp. 390–407. Idelson, Napoli, 1981.
13.
CislaghiC., DecarliA., La VecchiaC., LaverdaM., MezzanotteG., SmansM.: Dati, indicatori e mappe di mortalità tumorale. Italia 1975/1977. Pitagora Editrice, Bologna, 1986.
14.
CorreaP., CuelloC., DuqueE.: Carcinoma and intestinal metaplasia of the stomach in Colombian migrants. J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 44: 297–306, 1970.
15.
DecarliA., La VecchiaC.: Cancer mortality in Italy, 1982. Tumori, 74: 623–637, 1988.
16.
DecarliA., La VecchiaC., CislaghiC., MezzanotteG., MarubiniE.: Descriptive epidemiology of gastric cancer in Italy. Cancer, 58: 2560–2569, 1986.
17.
FacchiniU., CamnasioM., CantaboniA., DecarliA., La VecchiaC.: Geographical variation of cancer mortality in Italy. Int. J. Epidemiol., 14: 538–548, 1985.
18.
FidanzaF.: Changing patterns of food consumption in Italy. J. Am. Diet. Ass., 77: 133–137, 1980.
GeddesM., AmorosiA., BalziD., BiggeriA., CavalliniV., ChelliniE., QuinnM.: Incidenza e mortalità per tumori nella Provincia di Firenze - 1985. Quaderni di Oncologia, 2. Registro Tumori Toscano, Firenze, 1988.
21.
GrahamS.: Diet and cancer. Am. J. Epidemiol., 112: 247–252, 1980.
22.
HaenszelW., KuriharaM., SegiM., LeeR.: Stomach cancer among Japanese in Hawaii. J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 49: 969–988, 1972.
23.
HoeyJ., MontvernayC., LambertR.: Wine and tobacco: risk factors for gastric cancer in France. Am. J. Epidemiol., 113: 668–674, 1981.
24.
HowsonC.P., HiyamaT., WynderE.: The decline in gastric cancer: epidemiology of an unplanned triumph. Epidemiol. Rev., 8: 1–27, 1986.
25.
HuJ., ZhangS., JiaE., WangQ., LiuS., LiuY., WuY., ChengY.: Diet and cancer of the stomach: a case-control study in China. Int. J. Cancer, 41: 331–335, 1988.
26.
ISTAT: I consumi delle famiglie. Anno 1986. Collana d'informazione, 16. ISTAT, Roma, 1988.
27.
ISTAT: Indagine campionaria sui consumi delle famiglie. Anno 1987. Notiziario, Serie 4, Fogloi 41, N. 9. ISTAT, Roma, 1988.
28.
KolonelL., NomuraA., HirohataT., HankinJ., HindsW.: Association of diet and place of birth with stomach cancer incidence in Hawaii Japanese and Caucasians. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 34: 2478–2485, 1981.
29.
KolonelL., NomuraA., KindsM.W., HirohataT., HankinJ., LeeJ.: Role of diet in cancer incidence in Hawaii. Cancer Res., 43: 2397–2402, 1983.
30.
LaurenP.: The two histological main types of gastric carcinoma: diffuse and so-called intestinal-type carcinoma. An attempt at a histoclinical classification. Acta Pathol. Microbiol. Scand., 64: 31–49, 1965.
31.
MarshallJ.R.: The reliability and valdity of dietary data as used in epidemiology. Cancer Surv., 6: 673–683, 1987.
32.
MillerA.B.: Nutrition and cancer. Prev. Med., 9: 189–196, 1980.
33.
MirvishS.S.: The etiology of gastric cancer. Intragastric nitrosamide formation and other theories. J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 71: 631–647, 1983.
34.
MorganR.W., JainM., MillerA.B.: A comparison of dietary methods in epidemiologic studies. Am. J. Epidemiol., 107: 488–498, 1978.
35.
MunozN., AsvallJ.: Time trends of intestinal and diffuse types of gastric cancer in Norway. Int. J. Cancer, 8: 144–157, 1971.
36.
MunozN., ConnellyR.: Time trends of intestinal and diffuse types of gastric cancer in the United States. Int. J. Cancer, 8: 158–164, 1971.
37.
MunozN., CorreaP., CuelloC., DuqueE.: Histologic types of gastric carcinoma in high- and low-risk areas. Int. J. Cancer, 3: 809–818, 1968.
38.
NomuraA.: Stomach. In: Cancer Eidemiology and Prevention.SchottenfeldD., and FraumeniJ.F.Jr. (eds.), pp. 624–637, Sanders, New York, 1982.
ParisiV., PiconeA., MastroA., LenaR.: Correlazione clinico-statistica su 248 casi di carcinoma dello stomaco di tipo intestinale e diffuso. Tumori, 62: 25–38, 1976.
41.
PearceN., CheckowayH.: Case-control studies using other diseases as controls: problems of excluding exposure-related diseases. Am. J. Epidemiol., 127: 851–856, 1988.
42.
PleskoI., Preston-MartinS., DayN.E., TzonouA., DimitrovaE., SomogyJ.: Parity and cancer risk in Slovakia. Int. J. Cancer, 36: 529–533, 1985.
43.
RibeiroM.M., SaramentoJ.A., SimoesA.S., BastosJ.: Prognostic significance of Lauren and Ming classifications and other pathologic parameters in gastric carcinoma. Cancer, 47: 780–784, 1981.
44.
RiboliE., RonnholmH., SaracciR.: Biological markers of diet. Cancer Surv., 6: 685–718, 1987.
45.
RohanT.E., PotterJ.D.: Retrospective assessment of dietary intake. Am. J. Epidemiol., 120: 876–887, 1984.
46.
RossoS.: Archivi e liste di popolazione: accessibilità, completezza, aggiornamento. In: Att del Congresso Nazionale della Associazione Italiana di Epidemiologia: Le indagini di popolazione sullo stato di salute, pp. 25–34. Ancona, 1986.
47.
RothmanK.J.: Modern epidemiology.Little, Brown and Company, Boston/Toronto, 1986.
48.
SchlesselmanJ.J.: Case-control studies. Design, conduct, analysis.Oxford University Press, New York, 1976.
49.
SchulteP.A.: Methodologic issues in the use of biologic markers in epidemiologic research. Am. J. Epidemiol., 126: 1006–1016, 1987.
50.
SilvermanD.T., HooverR.N., SwansonG.M.: Artificial sweeteners and lower urinary tract cancer: hospital vs. population controls. Am. J. Epidemiol., 117: 326–334, 1983.
51.
TheM., LeeY.: Intestinal and diffuse carcinoma of the stomach among the ethnic and dialect groups in Singapore. Cancer, 60: 921–925, 1987.
52.
Van SraverenW.A., WestC.E., HoffmansM.D.A., BosP., KardinaalA.F.M., Van PoppelA.F.C., SchipperA.J., HautvastJ.J., HayesR.B.: Comparison of contemporaneous and retrospective estimates of food consumption made by dietary history methods. Am. J. Epidemiol., 123: 884–893, 1986.
53.
VisteA., EideG.E., HalvorsenK., Maartmann-MoeH., SoreideO.: The prognostic value of Lauren's histopathological classification system and ABO blood groups in patients with stomach carcinoma. Eur. J. Surg. Oncology, 12: 135–141, 1986.
54.
WaldN.: Retinol, beta-carotene and cancer. Cancer Surv., 6: 635–651, 1987.
55.
WillettW.C., SampsonL., StampferM.J., RosnerB., BainC., WitschiJ., HennekensH., SpeizerF.E.: Reproducibility and validity of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Am. J. Epidemiol., 122: 51–65, 1985.
56.
YouW.C., BlotW.J., ChangY.S., ErshowA.G., YangZ.T., AnQ., HendersonB., XuG.W., FraumeniJ.F.Jr., WangT.G.: Diet and high risk of stomach cancer in Shandong, China. Cancer Res., 48: 3518–3523, 1988.
57.
ZampiG., ColafranceschiM., CastellucciA.: Rilievi istopatologici sul carcinoma gastrico in riferimento alle moderne classificazioni istogenetiche ed alla prognosi. Boll. Memoria Soc. Tosco-Umbra Chir., 34: 43–73, 1973.
