SynthesisBMJ open2016
Systematic review of the association between dietary acid load, alkaline water and cancer.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between dietary acid load and cancer risk and prognosis: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Enhanced 400-m sprint performance in moderately trained participants by a 4-day alkalizing diet: a counterbalanced, randomized controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Review
- The association between dietary acid load and odds of prostate cancer: a case-control study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Relationship Between Dietary Acid Load and Risk of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Case-Control Study.Current therapeutic research, clinical and experimental · 2025Article
- The Influence of Different Sustainable Substrates on the Nutritional Value ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The global burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages among people aged 60 years and older: an analysis for the global burden of disease study 2019.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Baseline urine pH is related to effective urine alkalization by short-term alkaline water supplementation: data from a self-controlled study in healthy Chinese volunteers following a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature.Translational andrology and urology · 2022Article
- Dietary Acid Load, Serum Polychlorinated Biphenyl Levels, and Mortality Following Breast Cancer in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Diet-dependent acid load and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma: a case-control study.Public health nutrition · 2021Article
- Nutritional Approaches for the Management of Metabolic Acidosis in Chronic Kidney Disease.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Review
- The Molecular Effects of Dietary Acid Load on Metabolic Disease (The Cellular PasaDoble: The Fast-Paced Dance of pH Regulation).Frontiers in molecular medicine · 2021Review
- The effect of body acid-base state and manipulations on body glucose regulation in human.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Review
- Targeting the Acidic Tumor Microenvironment: Unexpected Pro-Neoplastic Effects of Oral NaHCOCancers · 2020Article
- Higher dietary acid load is not associated with risk of breast cancer in Iranian women.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2020Article
- Effects of alkaline water intake on gastritis and miRNA expression (miR-7, miR-155, miR-135b and miR-29c).American journal of translational research · 2020Article
- Serum bicarbonate is a marker of peri-operative mortality but is not associated with long term survival in colorectal cancer.PloS one · 2020Article
- Higher diet-dependent acid load is associated with risk of breast cancer: Findings from the sister study.International journal of cancer · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo evaluate the evidence for a causal relationship between dietary acid/alkaline and alkaline water for the aetiology and treatment of cancer.
designA systematic review was conducted on published and grey literature separately for randomised intervention and observational studies with either varying acid-base dietary intakes and/or alkaline water with any cancer outcome or for cancer treatment. OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of cancer and outcomes of cancer treatment.
results8278 citations were identified, and 252 abstracts were reviewed; 1 study met the inclusion criteria and was included in this systematic review. No randomised trials were located. No studies were located that examined dietary acid or alkaline or alkaline water for cancer treatment. The included study was a cohort study with a low risk of bias. This study revealed no association between the diet acid load with bladder cancer (OR=1.15: 95% CI 0.86 to 1.55, p=0.36). No association was found even among long-term smokers (OR=1.72: 95% CI 0.96 to 3.10, p=0.08).
conclusionsDespite the promotion of the alkaline diet and alkaline water by the media and salespeople, there is almost no actual research to either support or disprove these ideas. This systematic review of the literature revealed a lack of evidence for or against diet acid load and/or alkaline water for the initiation or treatment of cancer. Promotion of alkaline diet and alkaline water to the public for cancer prevention or treatment is not justified.
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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.