Is carrot consumption associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer? A meta-analysis of observational studies
Xu H, Jiang H, Yang W, Song F, Yan S, Wang C, Fu W, Li H, Lyu C, Gan Y, Lu Z · British Journal of Nutrition · 2019 September 14
DOI 10.1017/S0007114519001107
Objective
To investigate the association between carrot consumption and lung cancer risk through a meta-analysis of case-control and prospective cohort studies.
Conclusions
The study concludes that there is evidence suggesting that carrot consumption may decrease the risk of lung cancer, particularly for adenocarcinoma.
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Insights
Higher carrot consumption is associated with a lower risk of developing lung cancer, particularly adenocarcinoma.
The researchers carried out a meta-analysis of both case-control and prospective cohort studies. They executed a thorough search of PubMed and Embase databases from inception until April 2018 without limiting language. The studies included in their analysis were ones that reported odds ratios or relative risk for lung cancer risk within the highest and lowest categories of carrot consumption. The analysis incorporated a total of eighteen eligible studies that encompassed 17 case-control studies and one cohort study, involving 202,969 individuals and 5,517 lung cancer patients.
The meta-analysis of the combined eighteen studies showed a significant association between higher carrot consumption and reduced risk of lung cancer. Subgroup analysis for different types of lung cancer showed that this association was especially pronounced for adenocarcinoma. Despite testing the robustness of their results by excluding each study one by one, the fundamental result regarding the protective effect of carrot intake against lung cancer remained unchanged. The comprehensive synthesis of observational studies therefore suggested that higher carrot consumption might serve as a preventative measure against lung cancer, notably adenocarcinoma.
Related insights
- Regular consumption of raw carrots is associated with a significant, dose-dependent reduction in lung cancer incidence, suggesting a potential cancer-protective effect attributed to polyacetylenic compounds, particularly falcarinol and falcarindiol, present in raw carrots.
- Consuming carrots can significantly decrease the risk of cancer.
- Carrot and carotene consumption could diminish the risk of a wide range of negative health consequences, including multiple types of cancer.
- Carrot consumption, beyond its β- and α-carotene content, significantly reduces cancer risk, highlighting polyacetylenes as potential anti-cancer agents, urging active promotion of carrot intake.
- Pomegranate juice increases the effectiveness of lung cancer treatment with the low dose chemotherapy drug Cisplatin, while simultaneously reducing its toxicity on normal cells.
- Regular carrot consumption could potentially reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
