Page 231 - EJMO-9-1

Eurasian Journal of Medicine
and Oncology

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Grain and legume consumption and risk of

gastric cancer: Findings from a case–control
study

1
Rana Youssef , Dania Alsayyad , Sarrah Daban , Manar Adawi ,
1
1
1
1
2
Sabika Allehdan , Aya Hamdan , Tareq Al-Jaberi , Ahmad F. Hushki ,
3
4
Yaser Rayyan , and Reema Tayyem *
1
5
1 Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha,
Qatar
2 Department of Biology, College of Science, Sakhir Campus, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Bahrain
3 Department of General & Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and
Technology, Irbid, Ar-Ramtha, Jordan
4 Gastroenterology Division, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan
5 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Jordan,
Amman, Jordan
Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with
dietary factors significantly influencing GC risk. However, research on the dietary
*Corresponding author: influences of GC in Middle Eastern populations, particularly in Jordan, remains limited.
Reema Tayyem This study aimed to assess the association between the consumption of grains and
(reema.tayyem@qu.edu.qa) legumes and GC risk in a Jordanian population, hypothesizing that refined grains
Citation: Youssef R, Alsayyad D, may increase GC risk, while whole grains and legumes may offer protective effects.
Daban S, et al. Grain and A case–control study was conducted involving 173 newly diagnosed GC cases and
legume consumption and risk of
gastric cancer: Findings from a 314 cancer-free controls recruited from major hospitals in Jordan. Data were collected
case–control study. Eurasian J Med through interview-based questionnaires. Consumption of grains and legumes was
Oncol. 2025;9(1):223-235. assessed using a validated Arabic food frequency questionnaire tailored to Jordanian
doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6606
dietary habits. Statistical analyses were adjusted for key confounders to isolate the
Received: November 27, 2024 impact of dietary intake on GC risk. The findings indicate that a higher intake of refined
Revised: January 7, 2025 grains, particularly white bread, is positively associated with an increased risk of GC,
as shown by an odds ratio (OR) of 3.13 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.57 – 6.21, p = 0.001).
Accepted: January 9, 2025
In contrast, moderate rice consumption is linked to a reduced risk of GC (OR = 0.38,
Published online: February 14, CI: 0.18 – 0.81). Legumes, including hummus (OR = 0.48, CI: 0.26 – 0.97) and cooked
2025 dried beans (OR = 0.40, CI: 0.20 – 0.81), were found to have protective associations
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). with GC risk. However, the consumption of green peas was unexpectedly associated
This is an Open-Access article with an increased GC risk (OR = 2.19, CI: 1.24 – 3.88, p = 0.004), potentially due to
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution preparation methods or consumption patterns. This study provides evidence linking
License, permitting distribution, specific grains and legumes to GC risk in Jordan. Refined grains appear to increase
and reproduction in any medium, GC risk, while legumes may offer protective benefits. These findings underscore the
provided the original work is
properly cited. importance of public health interventions that encourage increased consumption of
legumes and discourage refined grain intake to mitigate GC risk in similar populations.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Grains; Legumes; Gastric cancer; Case–control study
affiliations.

Volume 9 Issue 1 (2025) 223 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6606