Cancer risk lower for vegetarians but not vegans, study finds

A pooled analysis of more than 1.8 million people published in the British Journal of Cancer found vegetarians had lower risk of several cancers, while vegans showed a higher incidence of colon cancer in this dataset.

A pooled analysis published in the British Journal of Cancer reports differing cancer risks across diet groups. The study combined data on more than 1.8 million people from three continents. Researchers reported that people described as vegetarians had lower risks of several cancers, while vegans showed a higher incidence of colon cancer in these data. The paper did not determine causes and noted some results were based on relatively small numbers of cases. Key findings: - Vegetarians were reported to have lower risk of five cancers, including pancreatic, breast, prostate, kidney and multiple myeloma. - Vegetarians were also reported to have nearly double the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with meat-eaters. - Vegans showed a higher risk of colon (bowel) cancer in this pooled analysis, though researchers noted relatively few vegan cases. - The analysis pooled over 1.8 million participants across three continents and was published in the British Journal of Cancer. Summary: The study indicates different diet groups may be associated with different cancer risk patterns, with lower risks seen for several cancers among vegetarians and a higher colon cancer incidence reported among vegans in this dataset. Researchers suggested possible nutrient differences (for example, dairy-related calcium or lower riboflavin) as hypotheses but did not establish causal links. Undetermined at this time.