ArticleEClinicalMedicine2023
Ultra-processed food consumption, cancer risk and cancer mortality: a large-scale prospective analysis within the UK Biobank.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
98 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Cancer Risk: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Journal of food science · 2026Pooled it
- Dietary intake, quality, and assessment tools in individuals with problematic alcohol use: a scoping review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Ultra-processed food intake and risk of digestive system cancers: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Consumption of fast foods and ultra-processed foods and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Global health research and policy · 2025Pooled it
- Association between ultra-processed foods and risk of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Association between ultra-processed food consumption and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle after Bowel Cancer (HEAL ABC)-feasibility randomised controlled trial.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Trial
- Cancer and Health Inequalities.British journal of cancer · 2026Review
- Associations of food processing and dietary risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: A cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Ultraprocessed food intake and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Impact of lung cancer diagnosis on patient lifestyle and physical activity.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Observational
- Ultra-processed food intake and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the NIH-AARP Diet and health study: a prospective cohort analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed Foods and Gastrointestinal Cancer: Epidemiologic Evidence, Mechanistic Pathways, and Clinical Implications.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Review
- Plant-Based Diets, Ultra-Processed Foods, and Risks of Mortality and Major Chronic Diseases: A Prospective Cohort Study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption during pregnancy and emotional and behavioral problems in offspring.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Accelerometer-measured physical activity fragmentation and incident cardiovascular diseases: a prospective cohort study.Nutrition journal · 2026Article
- Longitudinal association of ultra-processed food consumption with biological aging: the mediating role of adiposity measures.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Assessing the role of ultra-processed foods in colorectal cancer incidence: insights from the EPIC cohort.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Understandings of ultra-processed foods among adults with responsibility for household food activities in the United Kingdom: a qualitative study.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
38 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
8 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Global dietary patterns are increasingly dominated by relatively cheap, highly palatable, and ready-to-eat ultra-processed foods (UPFs). However, prospective evidence is limited on cancer development and mortality in relation to UPF consumption. This study examines associations between UPF consumption and risk of cancer and associated mortality for 34 site-specific cancers in a large cohort of British adults. Methods: This study included a prospective cohort of UK Biobank participants (aged 40-69 years) who completed 24-h dietary recalls between 2009 and 2012 (N = 197426, 54.6% women) and were followed up until Jan 31, 2021. Food items consumed were categorised according to their degree of food processing using the NOVA food classification system. Individuals' UPF consumption was expressed as a percentage of total food intake (g/day). Prospective associations were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for baseline socio-demographic characteristics, smoking status, physical activity, body mass index, alcohol and total energy intake. Findings: The mean UPF consumption was 22.9% (SD 13.3%) in the total diet. During a median follow-up time of 9.8 years, 15,921 individuals developed cancer and 4009 cancer-related deaths occurred. Every 10 percentage points increment in UPF consumption was associated with an increased incidence of overall (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04) and specifically ovarian (1.19; 1.08-1.30) cancer. Furthermore, every 10 percentage points increment in UPF consumption was associated with an increased risk of overall (1.06; 1.03-1.09), ovarian (1.30; 1.13-1.50), and breast (1.16; 1.02-1.32) cancer-related mortality. Interpretation: Our UK-based cohort study suggests that higher UPF consumption may be linked to an increased burden and mortality for overall and certain site-specific cancers especially ovarian cancer in women. Funding: The Cancer Research UK and World Cancer Research Fund.
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Registered trials
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