The Study
Intake of dietary fruit, vegetables, and fiber and risk of colorectal cancer according to molecular subtypes: A pooled analysis of 9 studies
This study looked at what people ate and whether they got a certain kind of colon cancer, but it didn’t make people change their diets—it just watched what they already ate. So it can tell us that people who ate more fruit or fiber were less likely to have certain cancer types, but it can’t prove that the food caused the lower risk.
Analysis score
Maximum 85 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
Not all colon cancers are the same — some grow in different ways. This study found that eating more fiber lowers the risk of one common type, and eating more fruit lowers the risk of another rare type with a specific gene glitch (BRAF mutation).
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you eat more fiber, you’re slightly less likely to get the most common kind of colon cancer.
- 2If you eat more fruit, you might lower your risk of a rarer, gene-driven type.
- 3Fiber: 6% lower risk per extra quartile (OR=0.94).
- 4Fruit: 18% lower risk for BRAF-mutated tumors (OR=0.82).
- 5Vegetables: no link found.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Cancer research
Year
2020
Authors
A. Hidaka, T. Harrison, Yin Cao, L. Sakoda, Richard T. Barfield, M. Giannakis, M. Song, A. Phipps, J. Figueiredo, Syed H Zaidi, A. Toland, E. Amitay, S. Berndt, I. Borozan, A. Chan, S. Gallinger, M. Gunter, Mark A. Guinter, Sophia Harlid, H. Hampel, M. Jenkins, Yi Lin, V. Moreno, P. Newcomb, Reiko Nishihara, S. Ogino, M. Obón-Santacana, P. Parfrey, J. Potter, M. Slattery, R. Steinfelder, C. Um, Xiaoliang Wang, M. Woods, B. van Guelpen, S. Thibodeau, M. Hoffmeister, Wei Sun, L. Hsu, D. Buchanan, P. Campbell, U. Peters
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who consume more dietary fiber relative to their total energy intake have a lower likelihood of developing colorectal cancer.
People who eat more fruit have a lower likelihood of developing a specific type of colorectal cancer tumor that carries a BRAF gene mutation, compared to those who eat less fruit.
People who consume more dietary fiber have a slightly lower likelihood of developing a specific subtype of colorectal cancer that follows a well-defined progression from benign polyps to malignant tumors, according to observational data.
Studies that compare people with and without BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer have found that those who ate more fruit had lower cancer risk, but studies that followed people over time did not find this link, suggesting differences in how the studies were done may affect the results.
People who consume more dietary fiber may have a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer, particularly when the cancer develops through the traditional adenoma-carcinoma pathway, compared to other pathways, but this difference is not large enough to be considered statistically reliable.
Research has not found that eating vegetables protects against specific types of colorectal cancer in a way that is different from other foods. The overall effect of vegetables on colorectal cancer risk appears to be similar to other dietary components.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.