Mediterranean Diet and Cancer Risk

Sample size: 478478 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Couto E, Boffetta P, Lagiou P, Ferrari P, Buckland G, Overvad K, Dahm C C, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Clavel-Chapelon F, Boutron-Ruault M-C, Cottet V, Trichopoulos D, Naska A, Benetou V, Kaaks R, Rohrmann S, Boeing H, von Ruesten A, Panico S, Pala V, Vineis P, Palli D, Tumino R, May A, Peeters P H, Bueno-de-Mesquita H B, Büchner F L, Lund E, Skeie G, Engeset D, Gonzalez C A, Navarro C, Rodríguez L, Sánchez M-J, Amiano P, Barricarte A, Hallmans G, Johansson I, Manjer J, Wirfärt E, Allen N E, Crowe F, Khaw K-T, Wareham N, Moskal A, Slimani N, Jenab M, Romaguera D, Mouw T, Norat T, Riboli E, Trichopoulou A

Primary Institution: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

Hypothesis

Does adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduce overall cancer risk?

Conclusion

Greater adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern could reduce overall cancer risk.

Supporting Evidence

9669 incident cancers in men and 21,062 in women were identified.
A lower overall cancer risk was found among individuals with greater adherence to Mediterranean diet.
4.7% of cancers among men and 2.4% in women would be avoided with greater adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern.
The apparent inverse association was stronger for smoking-related cancers than for cancers not known to be related to tobacco.

Takeaway

Eating more Mediterranean foods like fruits, vegetables, and fish can help lower the chances of getting cancer.

Methodology

The study analyzed data from the EPIC cohort, assessing adherence to a Mediterranean diet and its association with cancer risk using Cox regression models.