ReviewBMC surgery2013
Mediterranean diet and cancer: epidemiological evidence and mechanism of selected aspects.
Review in BMC surgery, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 7 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
68 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of the Mediterranean diet in reducing the risk of cognitive impairement, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease: a meta-analysis.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Difference in Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Mortality by Dietary Pattern Analysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and its protective effects against colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of 26 studies with 2,217,404 participants.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Case-Control Studies.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Quantification of the smoking-associated cancer risk with rate advancement periods: meta-analysis of individual participant data from cohorts of the CHANCES consortium.BMC medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Diet Quality Is Associated with Serum Antioxidant Capacity in Women with Breast Cancer: A Cross Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risk of head and neck, gastric, and liver cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Integrative exercise and nutrition strategies in leukemia survivorship: implications for cognitive function and quality of life.Cancer cell international · 2026Review
- Dietary Responses to Non-Communicable Chronic Disease Diagnoses-A Scoping Review.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Relationship between Mediterranean diet and periodontal inflammation in a UK population: A cross-sectional study.Journal of periodontology · 2026Article
- A Narrative Review on the Antitumoral Effects of Selected Mediterranean Plant Products from Southern Italy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The role of burnout prevention in promoting healthy aging: frameworks for the Semmelweis Study and Semmelweis-EUniWell Workplace Health Promotion Program.GeroScience · 2025Review
- The association between plant-based diet indices and the risk of breast cancer: a case-control study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Paediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders-Comparative Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Recent advances in the role of high-salt diet in anti- and pro-cancer progression.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Adherence to a Mediterranean-Type Diet in Youth.Nutrients · 2024Article
- The association between healthy and unhealthy dietary indices with prostate cancer risk: a case-control study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2024Article
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and its association with gastric cancer: health benefits from a Planeterranean perspective.Journal of translational medicine · 2024Review
8 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
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPopulations living in the area of the Mediterranean Sea suffered by decreased incidence of cancer compared with those living in the regions of northern Europe and US countries, attributed to healthier dietary habits. Nowadays, we are assisting to a moving away from the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, but whether this changing is influencing risk of cancers is still unclear. The aim of the study was to review recent evidence on potential relationship between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cancer. DISCUSSION: The most recent pooled analyses of epidemiological studies supported strongly the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet may play a role in preventing several types of cancers, especially those of digestive tract, whereas contrasting results were reported for hormone-dependent cancers. Specific aspects of the Mediterranean diet such as high fruit and vegetables and low red processed meat intake may explain such protective effects. Moreover, evidence regarding olive oil and whole grains increase the beneficial effects of such dietary pattern against cancer.
conclusionsLiterature evidence actually demonstrates that the increased adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern is beneficial to health across populations and may translate a protective effect with certain cancers.
Indexed as
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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.