Advancing aetiology and prevention of gastric cancer: 5-year development of the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project (5° anno)

Worldwide, almost one million of people are newly diagnosed with gastric cancer every year, and gastric cancer remains a major cause of cancer death in Italy. Prevention is particularly important, as gastric cancer is highly lethal. This calls for a better definition of the role and quantification of various aetiological factors. In 2012, we started the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, a consortium of epidemiological studies of gastric cancer. The consortium achieved a rapid success: it now counts over 30 studies from different world areas and has recently started to publish its findings on tobacco and alcohol. The project will test, in a uniquely large and global dataset, the aetiological role of several factors, including dietary patterns/indexes, dietary components, social features, reproductive factors, physical activity, history of various diseases, family history of cancer, genetic factors and their interaction with H. pylori infection. The sample size allows to produce definite quantitative evidences. The main aim of the StoP Project is to provide a comprehensive picture of lifestyle, environmental, social, infective and genetic factors associated to gastric cancer and of their interaction, through pooled analyses of individual-level data, after central collection and validation of original datasets. This will be achieved through investigations of risk factors conducted by our Milan coordinating group as well as by providing essential support to international working groups in the development of their subproject analyses.