World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRFI) has launched a new report on stomach cancer. The report, from the independent expert panel of WCRFI's Continous Update Project, shows that there is strong evidence that body fatness is a cause of gastric cardia cancer and that consumption of processed meat is a cause of non-cardia gastric cancer.

There is also strong evidence that consumption of alcoholic drinks, specifically alcohol intakes above 45 grams per day (about 3 drinks a day), is a cause of stomach cancer, and that consumption of foods preserved by salting is a cause od stomach cancer. 

These findings come at a time when stomach cancer is the third biggest cancer killer in the world with over 900,000 new cases a year, making prevention and food policy action particularly important, especially with respect to overweight and obesity. 

The report follows the same rigorous process used for the 2007 WCRFI/AICR Expert Report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer, which is widely regarded as the most authoritative in the field. 

This new report is based on a systematic literature review of diet, nutrition (including body composition) and physical activity and risk of stomach cancer.