Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41879966›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of epidemiology2026

Vegetarian and vegan diets and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Dagfinn Aune, Sabrina Schlesinger, Jakub G Sobiecki

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Dagfinn AuneDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 90 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK. d.aune@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4533-1722
Sabrina SchlesingerInstitute for Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Jakub G SobieckiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 90 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that vegetarian and vegan vs. non-vegetarian diets are associated with lower cancer risk overall, however, results for specific cancer sites have been less consistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies on vegetarian and vegan diets and cancer incidence to clarify the associations across cancer sites. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies up to 5 July 2025. Summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for the association between vegetarian and vegan diets and cancer incidence. World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) criteria was used to evaluate the strength of the evidence. Seventeen publications (seven prospective studies) were included. The summary RRs (95% CIs) for vegetarians vs. non-vegetarians was 0.87 (0.84-0.91, I

Indexed as

Diet, VeganDiet, VegetarianNeoplasmsFemaleHumansIncidenceProspective StudiesRisk FactorsCancerMeta-analysisProspective studyVeganVegetarian

Identifiers

PMID41879966
PMCPMC13332899

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.