Vegetarian diet can slash risk of five cancers by up to 30%, study finds
#vegetarian diet #cancer risk #University of Oxford #British Journal of Cancer #nutrition research #plant-based diet #cancer prevention #dietary factors
📌 Key Takeaways
- Vegetarian diet can reduce risk of five cancers by up to 30%
- Vegetarians show lower risk for pancreatic, breast, prostate, kidney, and multiple myeloma cancers
- Vegetarians have higher risk of esophageal cancer; vegans have higher risk of bowel cancer
- Study involved over 1.7 million participants from UK, US, and other countries
📖 Full Retelling
University of Oxford researchers revealed on Friday 27 February 2026 that a vegetarian diet can reduce the risk of five types of cancer by as much as 30%, according to the largest study of its kind investigating the relationship between diet and cancer development. The comprehensive research found that vegetarians had significantly lower risks for several cancers, including a 21% reduced risk of pancreatic cancer, a 9% lower risk of breast cancer, a 12% reduced risk of prostate cancer, a 28% lower risk of kidney cancer, and a 31% decreased risk of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. However, the study also revealed concerning findings that vegetarians had nearly double the risk of the most common type of esophageal cancer compared to meat eaters, while vegans showed a higher risk of bowel cancer, though researchers noted more investigation is needed in this area. The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer and funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, involved analyzing data from over 1.7 million participants across multiple studies, with most participants coming from the UK and US. Researchers assessed food intake through questionnaires about participants' typical diets over the previous 12 months while accounting for other influencing factors like body mass index. The study's principal investigator, Aurora Perez Cornago, suggested that vegetarians typically consume more fruits, vegetables, and fiber while avoiding processed meat, which may contribute to lower cancer risks, though the higher risks for certain cancers might relate to lower intakes of nutrients more abundant in animal foods. Tim Key, co-investigator, noted that the differences in cancer rates between vegetarians and meat eaters were 'not very big' and might be more related to meat itself than simply vegetarians eating more healthy foods.
🏷️ Themes
Cancer Prevention, Diet and Nutrition, Medical Research
📚 Related People & Topics
University of Oxford
Collegiate university in Oxford, England
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II pr...
British Journal of Cancer
Academic journal
The British Journal of Cancer (BJC) is a twice-monthly professional medical journal published by Springer Nature. The BJC provides a forum for clinicians and scientists to communicate original research findings that have relevance to understanding the etiology of cancer and to improving patient trea...
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Original Source
Vegetarian diet can slash risk of five cancers by up to 30%, study finds University of Oxford researchers find vegetarians have a reduced risk of five types of cancers, including a 28% lower risk of kidney cancer and 31% lower risk of multiple myeloma. Friday 27 February 2026 03:51, UK Why you can trust Sky News A vegetarian diet can reduce the risk of five types of cancer by as much as 30%, a study has found. In the largest study of its kind, University of Oxford researchers found vegetarians have a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer compared to meat eaters. Vegetarians also have a 12% reduced risk of prostate cancer, 28% lower risk of kidney cancer and 31% lower risk of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. However, vegetarians were found to have nearly double the risk of the most common type of cancer of the oesophagus compared with meat eaters. This might be due to vegetarians missing out on some key nutrients, researchers suggested. And vegans were found to have a higher risk of bowel cancer when compared with meat eaters, although more research was needed in this area. It is already established that eating processed meat such as ham, bacon and salami is linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer, and possibly stomach cancer. More on Cancer Best and worst NHS trusts for cancer treatment revealed Medical tampon could detect early signs of ovarian cancer Vaping in cars with children to be banned under new plans Related Topics: Cancer Food Health Red meat such as beef, pork and lamb also increases the risk, while a link with white meat, such as chicken and turkey, has not been shown. Experts behind the new study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, said more work was needed on whether it is overall meat consumption that is linked to cancer, or whether something specific in vegetarian diets lowers the risk. The research included data from various studies worldwide, with most people coming from the UK and US. Some 1...
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