Vegan For Life
by Jack Norris, RD &
Ginny Messina, MPH, RD

For Updates:

Cancer, Vegetarianism, and Diet

(Last updated August, 2009.)

This article will address the subject of cancer rates in vegetarians. Very little data exists for vegans. The tables in this article are extracted from all studies that have looked at vegetarians and show the rates of cancer mortality (how many people died from the disease) or incidence (how many people contracted the disease). As you will see, most studies have not shown a difference between vegetarians and meat eaters regarding cancer.

Contents

Cancer Rates of Vegetarians
- General Cancer
- Colorectal
- Prostate
- Breast
- Lung
- Ovarian
- Uterine
- Stomach
- Pancreatic
- Brain
- Oral
- Upper Digestive Tract
- Cervical
- Melanoma
- Endometrial
- Kidney
- Bladder
- Lymphatic & Hematopoietic Tissue
Diet and Lifestyle Components and Cancer
References

Cancer Rates of Vegetarians

Each table below looks at a different type of cancer and whether there has been a difference in rates between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Some things to keep in mind:

Because the Meta-Analysis included participants in the Health Food Shoppers, Adventist Health, Heidelberg Vegetarian, and Oxford Vegetarian studies; and the EPIC-Oxford study includes many of the same people as were in the Oxford Vegetarian study, many of these results are not from completely different populations.
Although the 2012 paper from Adventist Health Study-2 (15) found some statistically significant differences between vegetarians and non-vegetarians for some specific cancers, they included semi- and pesco- vegetarians in the "vegetarian" category and thus are not listed below. Individual cancer categories were analyzed among the diet groups and female vegans had a lower risk of "all female cancers" before adjusting for body mass index (BMI). Vegans also had a slightly higher rate of urinary tract cancers after adjusting for BMI.
There is no data on North American vegetarians who are not also Seventh-day Adventists.

In the tables, statistically significant findings are in red type. In order for the rate to be statistically significant, the numbers in the confidence interval (in the parentheses) must both either be less than 1.00 or greater than 1.00. If you are not familiar with statistics, click here for a quick explanation of disease rate statistics.

General Cancer

Table 1 below shows that no study has found a difference in mortality between vegetarians and meat eaters for all cancers combined.

Table 1. Rates For All Cancers Combined.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.93 (.71, 1.04)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

EPIC-Oxford³

1993-2002

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.11 (.82, 1.51)

age, gender, smoking

Mortality

Oxford Vegetarian²

1980-2000

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.06 (.85, 1.34)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Health Food Shoppers²

1973-1997

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.05 (.96, 1.15)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Heidelberg Vegetarian¹

1978-1989

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.59 (.87, 2.94)

gender, duration of diet, BMI (smoking did not effect results)

Mortality. Non-vegetarians ate meat "occasionally."

In Table 2 below, EPIC-Oxford found that people who ate fish but no other meat had the least amount of cancer. In their most recent analysis, vegetarians had significantly less cancer than regular meat eaters. This does not mean fish-eaters have less cancer than vegetarians, the difference between the two is probably not statistically significant.

Table 2. Rates For All Cancers Combined.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

Adventist Health Study-2¹⁵

2002-2006

Non-Veg	1.00
Semi	.98 (.82, 1.17)
Pesco	.88 (.77, 1.01)
Lacto-ovo	.93 (.85, 1.02)
Vegan	.84 (.72, .99)

age, race, family history of cancer, education, smoking, alcohol, age at menarche, pregnancies, breastfeeding, oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, and menopause status. Adjusting for physical activity did not change the results.

Incidence

Adventist Health Study-2¹⁵

2002-2006

Non-Veg	1.00
Semi	.98 (.83, 1.18)
Pesco	.89 (.77, 1.03)
Lacto-ovo	.95 (.86, 1.04)
Vegan	.86 (.73, 1.00)

Same as above, plus BMI

Incidence

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.88 (.81, .96)
Pesco^b	.82 (.73, .93)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.89 (.80, 1.00)
Pesco^b	.83 (.71, .96)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Colorectal Cancer

Table 3 shows one study that found a higher risk of colorectal cancer for vegetarians and one study that found a lower risk.

Table 3. Rates For Colorectal Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.49 (1.09, 2.03)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

Oxford Vegetarian²

1980-2000

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.42 ( .76, 2.67)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Oxford Vegetarian⁶

1980-1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.85 ( .55, 1.32)

age, sex, alcohol, smoking

Incidence

Meta-Analysis⁵

1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.99 ( .77, 1.27)

age, gender, smoking, and study

Mortality

Health Food Shoppers²

1973-1997

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.85 ( .52, 1.39)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Adventist Health⁴

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.53 ( .35, .81)

age, gender

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

When you separate fish-only meat eaters from the regular meat eaters, Table 4 demonstrates that the vegetarians' rates were not as high or significant.

Table 4. Rates For Colorectal Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	1.12 (.87, 1.44)
Pesco^b	.77 (.53, 1.13)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	1.39 (1.01, 1.91)
Pesco^b	.64 ( .37, 1.10)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Prostate Cancer

The results for prostate cancer, Table 5 below, are similar to colorectal; only the Adventist Health Study showed a statistically significant difference.

Table 5. Rates For Prostate Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.90 (.61, 1.33)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

Oxford Vegetarian²

1980-2000

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.66 (.27, 1.59)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Meta-Analysis⁵

1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.91 (.60, 1.39)

age, gender, smoking, and study

Mortality

Health Food Shoppers²

1973-1997

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.29 (.62, 2.68)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Adventist Health⁴

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.65 (.44, .95)

age, gender

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

Fish-eaters had a statistically significant, lower rate of prostate cancer than regular meat eaters. See Table 6 below.

Table 6. Rates For Prostate Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.87 (.64, 1.18)
Pesco^b	.57 (.33, .99)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Breast Cancer

Unfortunately, the one (barely) significant finding was that vegetarians had more breast cancer in the Health Food Shoppers study. See Table 7 below. That study did not adjust for having children which is protective against breast cancer, and vegetarian women tend to have fewer children.

Table 7. Rates For Breast Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.94 (.77, 1.13)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

Oxford Vegetarian²

1980-2000

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.23 (.66, 2.31)

age, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Meta-Analysis⁵

1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.95 (.55, 1.63)

age, smoking, and study

Mortality

South Asian-Born Women Living in UK⁸

1995-1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.77 (.50, 1.19)

age, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Incidence. Case control.

Health Food Shoppers²

1973-1997

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.62 (1.01, 2.60)

age, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

India⁷

1980-1984

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.25 (.48, 1.67)

age, region

Incidence. Case control.

Adventist Health⁴

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.80 (.56, 1.15)

age

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

Table 8. Rates For Breast Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.91 (.77, 1.08)
Pesco^b	1.05 (.86, 1.28)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Lung Cancer

Table 9. Rates For Lung Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.23 (.69, 2.17)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

Oxford Vegetarian²

1980-2000

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.27 (.60, 2.68)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Meta-Analysis⁵

1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.84 (.59, 1.18)

age, gender, smoking, and study

Mortality

Health Food Shoppers²

1973-1997

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.19 (.70, 2.02)

age, gender, smoking; excluded first 5 years of follow-up

Mortality

Adventist Health⁴

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.86 (.42, 1.79)

age, gender

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

Table 10. Rates For Lung Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	1.11 (.75, 1.65)
Pesco^b	.59 (.29, 1.23)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Ovarian Cancer

Table 11. Rates For Ovarian Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹³

1993-2005

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.85 (.49, 1.46)

age, gender, smoking

Incidence

Table 12. Rates For Ovarian Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.69 (.45, 1.07)
Pesco^b	.37 (.18, .77)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Uterine Cancer

Table 13. Rates For Uterine Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

Adventist Health⁴

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.85 (.58, 1.23)

age, gender

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

Stomach Cancer

Table 14. Rates For Stomach Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

Meta-Analysis⁵

1999

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	1.02 (.64, 1.62)

age, gender, smoking, and study

Mortality

Table 15. Rates For Stomach Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.36 (.16, .78)
Pesco^b	.29 (.07, 1.20)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Pancreatic Cancer

Table 16 shows that vegetarians had about half the rate of pancreatic cancer compared to people who ate meat more than once daily. In comparison to all meat eaters, the rates were not significantly different.

Table 16. Rates For Pancreatic Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

Adventist Health¹⁰

1976-1982

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.46 ( .06, 1.39)

Vegetarians	1.00
Non-Veg^a	2.18 (1.04, 4.58)

age, sex, smoking, other foods

age, gender

Mortality

^aAte meat more than once daily.

Table 17. Rates For Pancreatic Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.94 (.52, 1.71)
Pesco^b	.82 (.34, 1.96)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Brain Cancer

Among people who ate meat more than once daily, there were no cases of meningioma cancer and this finding was statistically significant (see Table 18 below.)

Table 18. Rates For Brain Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

Adventist Health¹¹

1976-1982

Glioma Cancer
Vegetarians	1.00
Non-Veg^a	1.56 (.52, 5.63)
Non-Veg^b	1.75 (.34, 8.54)

Meningioma Cancer
Vegetarians	1.00
Non-Veg^a	.36 (.09, 1.46)
Non-Veg^b	0 (P < .05)

age, gender

Incidence. 6 years of follow up.

^aAte meat less than once daily.| ^bAte meat more than once daily.

Table 19. Rates For Brain Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford ¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	1.25 (.72, 2.16)
Pesco^b	1.39 (.69, 2.80)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Oral Cancer

Vegetarians, as shown in Table 20 below, had significantly lower rates of oral cancer in this study of Indian vegetarians.

Table 20. Rates For Oral Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

India⁹

1980-1984

Non-Veg	1.00
Vegetarians	.55 (.40, .74)

age, region

Incidence. Case control.

Cancer of the Upper Digestive Tract

Table 21. Rates For Cancer of the Upper Digestive Tract.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.81 (.45, 1.46)
Pesco^b	.44 (.16, 1.25)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Cervical Cancer

Table 22. Rates For Cervical Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	2.08 (1.05, 4.12)
Pesco^b	2.05 ( .91, 4.63)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Melanoma

Table 23. Rates For Melanoma.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.89 (.61, 1.29)
Pesco^b	.90 (.55, 1.47)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Endometrial Cancer

Table 24. Rates For Endometrial Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.75 (.45, 1.28)
Pesco^b	.61 (.29, 1.30)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Kidney Cancer

Table 25. Rates For Kidney Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.76 (.36, 1.58)
Pesco^b	.36 (.09, 1.52)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Bladder Cancer

Table 26. Rates For Bladder Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.47 (.25, .89)
Pesco^b	.81 (.36, 1.81)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Lymphatic & Hematopoietic Tissue Cancer

Table 27. Rates For Lymphatic & Hematopoietic Tissue Cancer.

Study

Years

Rates and Confidence Interval

Adjustments

Notes

EPIC-Oxford¹⁴

1993-2006

All
Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.55 (.39, .78)
Pesco^b	.85 (.56, 1.29)

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.57 (.35, .95)
Pesco^b	.86 (.47, 1.58)

Multiple Myeloma
Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.25 (.08, .73)
Pesco^b	.72 (.25, 2.10)

Leukemia
Non-Veg^a	1.00
Vegetarians	.78 (.43, 1.43)
Pesco^b	1.18 (.58, 2.40)

age, gender, smoking, alcohol, BMI, physical activity, parity, oral contraceptives, method of recruitment

Incidence

^aExcluding those who ate no meat other than fish. | ^bAte no meat other than fish.

Diet and Lifestyle Components and Cancer

In 2004, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition. Two of the authors, Timothy Key and Naomi Allen, have been involved in many of the above studies. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health also co-authored this paper which reviews what is currently known about diet and cancer. They summarize their findings based on levels of evidence:

Convincing Evidence

Physical activity lowers the risk of colon cancer.
Being overweight increases the risk of esophagus, colorectal, endometrium, and kidney cancer. It also increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Alcohol increases the risk of oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, and breast cancer.
Aflatoxin is a mold that contaminates some foods, especially in underdeveloped countries; it increases liver cancer in areas rampant with the hepatitis virus.
Chinese-style salted fish increases risk of nasopharynx cancer.

Probable Evidence

Case studies have shown that fruits and vegetables lower the risk of oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, and colorectal cancer. Prospective studies have not shown a strong effect for colorectal cancer, indicating that the protective effect is probably modest. The other cancers have yet to be evaluated through prospective studies.
Physical activity lowers risk of breast cancer.
Salt preserved foods and salt increase the risk for stomach cancer. This may be only for people with H. pylori infection (a cause of ulcers), but this relation hasn't been thoroughly examined.
Preserved meat and red meat increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
Very hot (temperature) drinks and foods increase risk of oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus cancer.

Insufficient Evidence

There is insufficient evidence to conclude that fiber, soy, fish, omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamins B2, B6, folate, B12, C, D, E, calcium, zinc, selenium, non-nutrient plant constituents (phytochemicals such as allium compounds in garlic, flavonoids, isoflavones, and lignans) lower the risk of cancer.
There is insufficient evidence that animal fats, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and nitrosamines increase the risk of cancer.

The authors conclude:

"Since the 1981 Doll and Peto review on diet and cancer mortality (12), about one third of cancers have generally been thought to be related to dietary factors. More recent evidence suggests that this number may be too high, but a revised quantitative estimate is beyond the scope of this review. Among the diet-related factors, overweight/obesity convincingly increases the risks of several common cancers. After tobacco, overweight/obesity appears to be the most important avoidable cause of cancer in populations with Western patterns of cancer incidence. Among non-smoking individuals in these populations, avoidance of overweight is the most important strategy for cancer prevention."

References

Footnotes

1. Chang-Claude J, Frentzel-Beyme R. Dietary and lifestyle determinants of mortality among German vegetarians. Int J Epidemiol. 1993 Apr;22(2):228-36.

2. Appleby PN, Key TJ, Thorogood M, Burr ML, Mann J. Mortality in British vegetarians. Public Health Nutr. 2002 Feb;5(1):29-36.

3. Key TJ, Appleby PN, Davey GK, Allen NE, Spencer EA, Travis RC. Mortality in British vegetarians: review and preliminary results from EPIC-Oxford. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3 Suppl):533S-538S.

4. Fraser GE. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):532S-538S.

5. Key TJ, Fraser GE, Thorogood M, Appleby PN, Beral V, Reeves G, Burr ML, Chang- Claude J, Frentzel-Beyme R, Kuzma JW, Mann J, McPherson K. Mortality in vegetarians and nonvegetarians: detailed findings from a collaborative analysis of 5 prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):516S-524S.

6. Sanjoaquin MA, Appleby PN, Thorogood M, Mann JI, Key TJ. Nutrition, lifestyle and colorectal cancer incidence: a prospective investigation of 10998 vegetarians and nonvegetarians in the United Kingdom. Br J Cancer. 2004 Jan 12;90(1):118-21.

7. Rao DN, Ganesh B, Desai PB. Role of reproductive factors in breast cancer in a low -risk area: a case-control study. Br J Cancer. 1994 Jul;70(1):129-32.

8. Dos Santos Silva I, Mangtani P, McCormack V, Bhakta D, Sevak L, McMichael AJ. Lifelong vegetarianism and risk of breast cancer: a population-based case-control study among South Asian migrant women living in England. Int J Cancer. 2002 May 10;99(2):238-44.

9. Rao DN, Ganesh B, Rao RS, Desai PB. Risk assessment of tobacco, alcohol and diet in oral cancer--a case-control study. Int J Cancer. 1994 Aug 15;58(4):469-73.

10. Mills PK, Beeson WL, Abbey DE, Fraser GE, Phillips RL. Dietary habits and past medical history as related to fatal pancreas cancer risk among Adventists. Cancer. 1988 Jun 15;61(12):2578-85.

11. Mills PK, Preston-Martin S, Annegers JF, Beeson WL, Phillips RL, Fraser GE. Risk factors for tumors of the brain and cranial meninges in Seventh-Day Adventists. Neuroepidemiology. 1989;8(5):266-75.

12. Doll R, Peto R. The causes of cancer: quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1981;66:1191-308.

13. Key TJ, Appleby PN, Spencer EA, Travis RC, Roddam AW, Allen NE. Cancer incidence in vegetarians: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford). Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89(suppl):1S-7S

14. Key TJ, Appleby PN, Spencer EA, Travis RC, Allen NE, Thorogood M, Mann JI. Cancer incidence in British vegetarians. Br J Cancer. 2009 Jul 7;101(1):192-7. Epub 2009 Jun 16.

15. Tantamango-Bartley Y, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fan J, Fraser G. Vegetarian diets and the incidence of cancer in a low-risk population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 Nov 20. | link

Other Papers Reviewed in Preparing this Report

American Dietetic Association; Dietitians of Canada. Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Jun;103(6):748-65.

Chang CC, Yu MW, Lu CF, Yang CS, Chen CJ. A nested case-control study on association between hepatitis C virus antibodies and primary liver cancer in a cohort of 9,775 men in Taiwan. J Med Virol. 1994 Jul;43(3):276-80.

Frentzel-Beyme R, Claude J, Eilber U. Mortality among German vegetarians: first results after five years of follow-up. Nutr Cancer. 1988;11(2):117-26.

Key TJ, Schatzkin A, Willett WC, Allen NE, Spencer EA, Travis RC. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of cancer. Public Health Nutr. 2004 Feb;7(1A):187-200.

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"Vegetarian" / "no meat" categories did not exclude fish.

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Basically same results as reference 13 Key at al. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89(suppl):1S-7S.