Background: Municipal waste landfills (MWLs) have been linked with some malignancies, but data about gastric cancer (GC) are still uncertain.
Methods: Number of deaths from GC, death rates, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated considering all residents in the 258 towns in the Apulia Region (4,099,547 subjects, years 2006-2009), living within 3 km from each of the 16 regional MWLs (n = 716,404) or in control areas (n = 3,383,143).
Results: Males living close to MWLs showed a higher death rate for GC, a twofold higher mean number of GC deaths and higher adjusted ORs of GC, compared with controls areas.
Conclusions: In a large population and over a wide time period, an increased risk of death from GC has been shown in males living in communities close to MWLs. Primary prevention policies acting through more sustainable waste management might probably partially reduce deaths from GC in areas with MWLs.
Keywords: gastric cancer; primary prevention; waste landfills.