The association between major gastrointestinal cancers and red and processed meat and fish consumption - A systematic review and meta-analysis of the observational studies

Sep 21, 2026

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Systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates whether dietary intake of red meat, processed meat, and fish is associated with risk of developing major gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Background notes that prior findings remain inconclusive, motivating an update of scientific evidence. Methods synthesize observational studies from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus through May 20, 2023, assessing heterogeneity, publication bias, and using odds ratios with random-effects models.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages14

Reading Time35 min

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

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Introduction

PLOS ONE OPEN ACCESS Citation: Poorolajal J, Mohammadi Y, FattahiDarghlou M, Almasi-Moghadam F (2024) The association between major gastrointestinal cancersand red and processed meat and fish consumption: A systematic review and metaanalysis of the observational studies. PLoS ONE 19(6): e0305994 . [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal). pone.0305994 Editor: Atalel Fentahun Awedew, Debre Tabor University, ETHIOPIA Received: February 4, 2024 Accepted: June 6, 2024 Published: June 26, 2024 Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. Data Availability Statement: All data are in the supporting information file. Funding: The research was approved by the ViceChancellor of Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, with approval number 140010218750. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. RESEARCH ARTICLE The association between major gastrointestinal cancers and red and processed meat and fish consumption: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the observational studies Jalal Poorolajal1,2,3, Younes Mohammadi1,4, Marzieh Fattahi-Darghlou1 , Fatemeh Almasi-Moghadam1 * 1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, 2 Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, 3 Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, 4 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran * [fatemehalmasi71@yahoo.com](fatemehalmasi71@yahoo.com) Abstract Background The association between red meat, fish, and processed meat consumption and the risk of developing gastrointestinal (GI) cancers remains inconclusive despite several investigations. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to update the existing scientific evidence. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until May 20, 2023. We analyzed observational studies that examined the associations between red and processed meat and fish consumption and GI cancers. We assessed between-study heterogeneity using the χ2 and τ2 tests, as well as I2 statistics. We explored the likelihood of publication bias using Begg’s and Egger’s tests and trim-and-fill analysis. We reported the overall effect sizes as odds ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model. Results Of the 21,004 studies identified, 95 studies involving 5,794,219 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The consumption of high levels of red meat, as compared to low levels, was found to significantly increase the risk of developing esophageal, pancreatic, liver, colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers. Similarly, the consumption of high levels of processed meat, as compared to low levels, significantly increased the risk of pancreatic, colon, rectal, Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. and colorectal cancers. In contrast, the consumption of high levels of fish, as compared to low levels, significantly reduced the risk of colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers. Conclusions This meta-analysis provides updated evidence on the association between red meat, processed meat, and fish consumption and the risk of developing five major types of GI cancers. Introduction Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are a significant global health concern, accounting for 26% of all cancer cases and 35% of cancer-related deaths [ 1] . Among the major types of GI cancers, including colorectal,

FAQs

What is the document’s main research purpose?

To update evidence on the association between red meat, processed meat, and fish consumption and the risk of five major GI cancer types using a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Which databases and time frame were searched?

PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until May 20, 2023.

What overall pattern did the results show for different foods?

High red meat intake increased risk of multiple GI cancers, high processed meat intake increased risk of several GI cancers, while high fish intake reduced risk of colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Violet