February 27, 2026

Largest study looking at vegetarian diets and risks of different cancers

Research from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford Population Health has looked at vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian, poultry-eating and meat-eating diets and incidence of 17 different cancers. This is the largest ever study of non-meat eating diets and cancer, and looked at data from previous studies that when combined included 1.8 million people: 1,645,555 meat eaters, 57,016 poultry eaters, 42,910 pescatarians, 63,147 vegetarians and 8,849 vegans in nine cohorts (UK, US, Taiwan, India).

The cancers looked at in the study included prostate, colorectal, breast, kidney, and pancreas cancers, multiple myeloma and squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. The data is observational, not a trial.

The study was published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Speakers included: 

Prof Tim Key, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology, Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford

Dr Aurora Perez Cornago, Principal Investigator of the study and formerly Associate Professor, Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford

Dr Yashvee Dunneram, first author of the study, formerly postdoctoral epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford; and Faculty Fellow in the Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.