Folate and vitamin B12 intake and risk of squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus

ABSTRACT

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common cancers in Iran and has a high mortality rate. The aim of this study was to assess the association between folate and vitamin B12 intake and risk of squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus cancer. In this case-control study, cases [n=47] were patients diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus [SCCE] in main hospital Kurdistan and controls [matched with cases by age and sex] were patients with acute non-cancer diseases at the same hospitals [n=96]. Demographic data and physical activity were collected using questionnaires. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire used for nutritional information and folate and vitamin B12 intake were calculated with Nutritionst IV [N4]. Thirty eight percent of cases and 40% of controls were males. Mean age of cases and controls were 58 +/- 18 and 58 +/- 17 years respectively. Mean folate intake among cases was 152.1 microg/day, which was less than in the controls. After adjustment for confounders, folate intake was inversely related with SCCE [OR=0.03, 95% Cl 0.00, 0.12]. The association between vitamin B[12] intake and SCCE was not significant [p=0.46]. Folate intake was inversely related with SCCE however, there was not a significant association between vitamin 612 intake and SCCE