Rethinking the relationship between vegetarian diet and cancer risk

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The meta-analysis on vegetarian diet and cancer risk conducted by Dunneram et al. with data from 1.8 million participants in nine cohorts across three continents undoubtedly sets a new milestone in this field [1]. This study not only confirms the potential benefits of vegetarians in terms of pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and multiple myeloma, etc., but also reveals counter-intuitive phenomena, which are an increased risk of esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma in vegetarians and an elevated risk of colorectal cancer in vegans. These findings shatter the long-held view that a vegetarian diet prevents cancer, compelling us to re-examine the complex relationship between a plant-based diet and tumorigenesis. Although these findings are crucial, there are still several points worthy of further discussion.

Dunneram Y, Lee JY, Watling CZ, Lawson I, Parsaeian M, Fraser GE, et al. Vegetarian diets and cancer risk: pooled analysis of 1.8 million women and men in nine prospective studies on three continents. Br J Cancer. 2026. Online ahead of print