Toenail selenium levels and gastric cancer risk in Cali, Colombia

To examine an association between selenium level and gastric cance (GC) risk, a hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Cali, Colombia. Selenium concentrations in toenails were compared between 142 GC patients and 244 controls selected from quartile of selenium level and highest in the second highest quartile (age-, sex-, hospital-, and sampling-season-adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 5.9, 95% confidence interval: 2.8, 12.4). This association was not modified by either tumor location or Lauren's histological type. The magnitude of ORs was not affected by other diets that were significantly associated with GC risk. Since selenium levels were relatively high in case and in controls, our results indicate that an inverse association between selenium level and GC risk may exist only among populatons with low selenium levels.