Increased Intake of Ultraprocessed Food Raises Lung Cancer Risk
THURSDAY, July 31, 2025 -- Higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPF) is associated with increased risk of lung cancer, according to a study published online July 29 in Thorax.
Kanran Wang, from Chongqing Cancer Hospital in China, and colleagues collected data from participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial to examine the association of UPF with increased risk of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). A validated diet history questionnaire was used to assess dietary intakes.
During a mean follow-up of 12.2 years among 101,732 adults, a total of 1,706 lung cancer cases were identified: 1,473 NSCLC and 233 SCLC. The researchers found that individuals in the highest versus the lowest quarter for UPF consumption had increased risk of lung cancer, NSCLC, and SCLC after multivariable adjustments, including key risk factors related to lung cancer and overall diet quality (hazard ratios, 1.41, 1.37, and 1.44, respectively). After a large range of subgroup and sensitivity analyses, these results remained statistically significant.
"These findings need to be confirmed by other large-scale longitudinal studies in different populations and settings," the authors write. "If causality is established, limiting trends of UPF intake globally could contribute to reducing the burden of lung cancer."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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