Meat Intake and Risk of Gastric and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition ( EPIC ) Study
Abstract
Whether meat consumption increases the risk of gastric cancer (GC) and esophageal cancer or not remains unclear. Moreover, the number of prospective studies evaluating the associations by anatomical and histological types of GC is limited. We aimed to assess the associations of red, processed, and white meat with all gastric adenocarcinomas by anatomical site and histological type, and with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study of 450,112 individuals (131,426 men/318,686 women). Over 14.1 years of follow-up, 876 GC and 215 EAC cases were identified. Among the GC cases, 233 were located in cardia and 329 in non-cardia regions. Histologically, 624 were classified as intestinal type and 208 as diffuse type. The associations between meat intake and risk of GC or EAC were assessed using multivariable Cox models. A 30 g/day increase in processed meat consumption was associated with a 9% (95% CI: 2-17) increase in GC risk and a 13% (95% CI: 0-27) increase in EAC risk. Additionally, a 20 g/day increase in white meat intake was associated with a 12% (95% CI: 2-24) increase in non-cardia GC risk. Processed meat was also associated with intestinal GC (11%, 95% CI: 2-20) and higher consumption with diffuse GC. Only processed meat was associated with GC among men while processed and white meat were both positively associated with GC among women. In conclusion, processed meat may increase the risk of GC and EAC, although further research is needed to clarify the effects of white meat consumption.
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BibTeX
@article{bonet2026meat,
title = {{Meat Intake and Risk of Gastric and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition ( EPIC ) Study}},
author = {Catalina Bonet and Lucía Rizzolo‐brime and Sara Montañés and Mariem Hajji and Chloé Marques and Gianluca Severi and Matthias B Schulze and Christina C. Dahm and Anne Tjønneland and Anja Olsen and Maria S. de Magistris and Valeria Pala and Alberto Catalano and Guri Skeie and Magritt Brustad and Torill Enget Jensen and Maria‐josé Sánchez and Marcela Guevara and Natalia Cabrera Castro and Keren Papier and Elisabete Weiderpass and Viktoria Knaze and Jin Young Park and Gwen Murphy and Antonio Agudo and Paula Jakszyn},
journal = {International Journal of Cancer},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/ijc.70486},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05851602v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Meat Intake and Risk of Gastric and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition ( EPIC ) Study
AU - Catalina Bonet
AU - Lucía Rizzolo‐brime
AU - Sara Montañés
AU - Mariem Hajji
AU - Chloé Marques
AU - Gianluca Severi
AU - Matthias B Schulze
AU - Christina C. Dahm
AU - Anne Tjønneland
AU - Anja Olsen
AU - Maria S. de Magistris
AU - Valeria Pala
AU - Alberto Catalano
AU - Guri Skeie
AU - Magritt Brustad
AU - Torill Enget Jensen
AU - Maria‐josé Sánchez
AU - Marcela Guevara
AU - Natalia Cabrera Castro
AU - Keren Papier
AU - Elisabete Weiderpass
AU - Viktoria Knaze
AU - Jin Young Park
AU - Gwen Murphy
AU - Antonio Agudo
AU - Paula Jakszyn
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - International Journal of Cancer
DO - 10.1002/ijc.70486
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05851602v1
AB - Whether meat consumption increases the risk of gastric cancer (GC) and esophageal cancer or not remains unclear. Moreover, the number of prospective studies evaluating the associations by anatomical and histological types of GC is limited. We aimed to assess the associations of red, processed, and white meat with all gastric adenocarcinomas by anatomical site and histological type, and with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study of 450,112 individuals (131,426 men/318,686 women). Over 14.1 years of follow-up, 876 GC and 215 EAC cases were identified. Among the GC cases, 233 were located in cardia and 329 in non-cardia regions. Histologically, 624 were classified as intestinal type and 208 as diffuse type. The associations between meat intake and risk of GC or EAC were assessed using multivariable Cox models. A 30 g/day increase in processed meat consumption was associated with a 9% (95% CI: 2-17) increase in GC risk and a 13% (95% CI: 0-27) increase in EAC risk. Additionally, a 20 g/day increase in white meat intake was associated with a 12% (95% CI: 2-24) increase in non-cardia GC risk. Processed meat was also associated with intestinal GC (11%, 95% CI: 2-20) and higher consumption with diffuse GC. Only processed meat was associated with GC among men while processed and white meat were both positively associated with GC among women. In conclusion, processed meat may increase the risk of GC and EAC, although further research is needed to clarify the effects of white meat consumption.
SN - 0020-7136
SN - 1097-0215
ER -