SynthesisPloS one2011
Red and processed meat and colorectal cancer incidence: meta-analysis of prospective studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 358 papers, 20 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
358 citing papers in PubMed, 20 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 883 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vegetarian and vegan diets and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- Phase angle assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Systematic Analysis of the Differential Effects of Red Meat on Colorectal Cancer Risks: A Meta-Analytic Approach.Journal of gastrointestinal cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Association between adhering to a dietary approach to stop hypertension and risk of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Dietary patterns and colorectal cancer risk: Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) systematic literature review.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Implementation research on common cancers (lung, breast, and colorectal) in Asia - a systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- National and subnational incidence, mortality and associated factors of colorectal cancer in China: A systematic analysis and modelling study.Journal of global health · 2023Pooled it
- Primary and Secondary Prevention Interventions to Reduce Risk Factors Associated with Colorectal Cancer in High-Risk Groups: a Systematic Literature Review.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2023Pooled it
- Is flexible sigmoidoscopy screening associated with reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality? a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Short-chain fatty acid concentrations in the incidence and risk-stratification of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Health effects associated with consumption of unprocessed red meat: a Burden of Proof study.Nature medicine · 2022Pooled it
- XRCC2 Arg188His polymorphism and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis.The Journal of international medical research · 2021Pooled it
- White Meat Consumption, All-Cause Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Fish Consumption and the Risk of Chronic Disease: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses of Prospective Cohort Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Processed meat intake and incidence of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- Prevalence of JC and BK viruses in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2020Pooled it
- Caregiver involvement in interventions for improving children's dietary intake and physical activity behaviors.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: A Proposal for Italian People. A Systematic Review of Prospective Studies to Derive Serving Sizes.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Associations of tumor necrosis factor-α polymorphisms with the risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.Bioscience reports · 2019Pooled it
298 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe evidence that red and processed meat influences colorectal carcinogenesis was judged convincing in the 2007 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research report. Since then, ten prospective studies have published new results. Here we update the evidence from prospective studies and explore whether there is a non-linear association of red and processed meats with colorectal cancer risk. METHODS AND
findingsRelevant prospective studies were identified in PubMed until March 2011. For each study, relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were extracted and pooled with a random-effects model, weighting for the inverse of the variance, in highest versus lowest intake comparison, and dose-response meta-analyses. Red and processed meats intake was associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. The summary relative risk (RR) of colorectal cancer for the highest versus the lowest intake was 1.22 (95% CI = 1.11-1.34) and the RR for every 100 g/day increase was 1.14 (95% CI = 1.04-1.24). Non-linear dose-response meta-analyses revealed that colorectal cancer risk increases approximately linearly with increasing intake of red and processed meats up to approximately 140 g/day, where the curve approaches its plateau. The associations were similar for colon and rectal cancer risk. When analyzed separately, colorectal cancer risk was related to intake of fresh red meat (RR(for 100 g/day increase) = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.05-1.31) and processed meat (RR (for 50 g/day increase) = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.10-1.28). Similar results were observed for colon cancer, but for rectal cancer, no significant associations were observed.
conclusionsHigh intake of red and processed meat is associated with significant increased risk of colorectal, colon and rectal cancers. The overall evidence of prospective studies supports limiting red and processed meat consumption as one of the dietary recommendations for the prevention of colorectal cancer.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.