Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42744960›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risk of head and neck, gastric, and liver cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Zoltan Ungvari, Mónika Fekete, Peter Varga, Andrea Lehoczki, Giuseppe Grosso, Justyna Godos, Ankita Murmu, Alberto Ocana, Csaba Kiss, Balázs Győrffy

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Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

10 authors.

Zoltan Ungvari *Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Mónika Fekete *Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Peter Varga *Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Andrea LehoczkiInstitute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Andrea.m.lehoczki@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4285-7518
Giuseppe GrossoDepartment of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123, Catania, Italy.
Justyna GodosDepartment of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123, Catania, Italy.
Ankita MurmuDept. of Bioinformatics, Semmelweis University, 1094, Budapest, Hungary.
Alberto OcanaExperimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), and CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain.
Csaba KissInstitute for Translational Research, Budapest, Hungary.
Balázs GyőrffyDept. of Bioinformatics, Semmelweis University, 1094, Budapest, Hungary.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is well established for its cardiometabolic benefits and has increasingly been linked to reduced cancer risk. While protective associations with colorectal cancer are consistently reported, evidence for other gastrointestinal and upper aerodigestive malignancies remains less comprehensively synthesized. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the risk of head and neck, gastric, and liver cancers. A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was performed for observational studies published through September 2025. Prospective cohort and case-control studies reporting relative risk (RR), odds ratio (OR), or hazard ratio (HR) estimates comparing highest versus lowest MedDiet adherence were eligible. Pooled risk estimates were calculated using random-effects models. Thirty-four studies comprising 4,286,835 participants were included. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with significantly reduced risk of head and neck cancer (RR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.45-0.67), gastric cancer (RR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.53-0.73), and liver cancer (RR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.53-0.67). Substantial heterogeneity was observed for head and neck (I

Indexed as

Cancer preventionDietary patternsGastric cancerHead and neck cancerHepatocellular carcinomaLiver cancerMediterranean dietMeta-analysisNutritional epidemiologySystematic review

Identifiers

PMID42744960

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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.