Could Consumption of UPFs Up Lung Cancer Risk?

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  • Source: Medscape
  • 08/25/2025

Individuals who ate more ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) had a significantly higher risk for lung cancer over 12 years than those who ate fewer UPFs, based on new data from more than 100,000 adults in an observational study.

Cigarette smoking is a known contributor to lung cancer, but diet also is known to play a role; however, data on the impact of UPFs in particular on lung cancer risk remain unclear, Kanran Wang, MD, of Chongqing Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China, and colleagues wrote.

In a study published in Thorax, the researchers reviewed data from 101,732 adults enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, a randomized trial of screening tests for lung, prostate, colorectal, and ovarian cancers from 10 centers across the US. The primary endpoint was the incidence of lung cancer.

In a multivariate analysis, individuals in the highest quartile of UPF consumption were 41% more likely to develop lung cancer than those in the lowest quartile of consumption (hazard ratio [HR], 1.41); risk also was higher for both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (HR, 1.37) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (HR, 1.44). These results remained statistically significant after a large range of subgroup and sensitivity analyses, including age, sex, and family history of lung cancer.

UPF consumption was based on the Food Frequency Questionnaire, and foods were classified by dietitians into four categories of processing as unprocessed or minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and UPF, based on the NOVA criteria. The mean age of the study population at baseline was 62.5 years. The mean energy-adjusted UPF consumption was 2.8 servings/d, with mean servings for the lowest and highest intake quarters of 0.5 and 6.0, respectively. Approximately half of the participants in each quarter were current or ever-smokers.


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