Aiming to assess the association between carotenes and vitamin A intake and lung cancer, a case control study was performed. Sixty one male subjects with lung cancer and 61 controls paired for age, sex and smoking habits from 6 hospitals in Santiago were analyzed. Based on a consumption tendency enquiry, the mean weekly intake of food groups, carotenes and vitamin A was calculated, considering seasonal variations. Results showed that cases consumed less "winter" vegetables than controls (chard, beet, chicory, spinach and cabbage) but no differences between groups in carotene and retinol consumption. It is concluded that patients with lung cancer have a lower consumption of carotene rich vegetables.