Volume 157, Issue 2 pp. 260-276
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Associations between degree of food processing and colorectal cancer risk in a large-scale European cohort

Aline Al Nahas

Corresponding Author

Aline Al Nahas

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Correspondence

Aline Al Nahas, Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, 69007, France.

Email: [email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Sahar Yammine Ghantous

Sahar Yammine Ghantous

INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, Bobigny, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Fernanda Morales Berstein

Fernanda Morales Berstein

MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Contribution: Software, Writing - review & editing

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Emine Koc Cakmak

Emine Koc Cakmak

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, MCR Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Visualization, Writing - review & editing

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Carine Biessy

Carine Biessy

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Software

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Genevieve Nicolas

Genevieve Nicolas

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Visualization, Writing - review & editing

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Nathalie Kliemann

Nathalie Kliemann

Centro de Pesquisas Oncológicas (CEPON), Santa Catarina, Brazil

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Jessica Blanco Lopez

Jessica Blanco Lopez

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Inarie Jacobs

Inarie Jacobs

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Esther M. Gonzalez-Gil

Esther M. Gonzalez-Gil

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Manon Cairat

Manon Cairat

Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Maria Gabriela Matias Pinho

Maria Gabriela Matias Pinho

Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Department Environmental Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Renata Bertazzi Levy

Renata Bertazzi Levy

Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Contribution: Funding acquisition, Resources, Writing - review & editing

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Fernanda Rauber

Fernanda Rauber

Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Eszter P. Vamos

Eszter P. Vamos

Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Funding acquisition, Resources, Writing - review & editing

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Kiara Chang

Kiara Chang

Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Christopher Millett

Christopher Millett

Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Comprehensive Health Research Center, CHRC, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Contribution: Funding acquisition, Resources, Writing - review & editing

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Mathilde Touvier

Mathilde Touvier

INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, Bobigny, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot

Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot

INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, Bobigny, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Gianluca Severi

Gianluca Severi

Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France

Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications “G. Parenti”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Chloé Marques

Chloé Marques

Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France

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Mariem Hajji

Mariem Hajji

Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Alessandra Macciotta

Alessandra Macciotta

Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Orbassano, Italy

Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Giovanna Masala

Giovanna Masala

Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention, and Clinical Network (ISPRO), Florence, Italy

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Mario Fordellone

Mario Fordellone

Medical Statistics Unit, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy

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Claudia Agnoli

Claudia Agnoli

Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Pilar Amiano

Pilar Amiano

Ministry of Health of the Basque Government, Sub Directorate for Public Health and Addictions of Gipuzkoa, San Sebastian, Spain

BioGipuzkoa (BioDonostia) Health Research Institute, Epidemiology of Chronic and Communicable Diseases Group, San Sebastián, Spain

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Marcela Guevara

Marcela Guevara

Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain

Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain

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Anne Tjønneland

Anne Tjønneland

Danish Cancer Institute, Diet, Cancer and Health, Copenhagen, Denmark

Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Cecilie Kyrø

Cecilie Kyrø

Danish Cancer Institute, Diet, Cancer and Health, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Jeroen W. G. Derksen

Jeroen W. G. Derksen

Department of Epidemiology and Health Economics, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Karel C. Smit

Karel C. Smit

Department of Epidemiology and Health Economics, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Matthias B. Schulze

Matthias B. Schulze

Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany

Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Franziska Jannasch

Franziska Jannasch

Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Rudolf Kaaks

Rudolf Kaaks

Division of Cancer Epidemiology (C020), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Verena Katzke

Verena Katzke

Division of Cancer Epidemiology (C020), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

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Tonje Braaten

Tonje Braaten

Department of Community Medicine, UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Bodø, Norway

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Magritt Brustad

Magritt Brustad

Department of Community Medicine, UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

The Public Dental Health Service Competence Centre of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Guri Skeie

Guri Skeie

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Department of Community Medicine, UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Rhea Harewood

Rhea Harewood

Cancer Screening and Prevention Research Group, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Alicia Heath

Alicia Heath

Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Paolo Vineis

Paolo Vineis

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, MCR Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine (IIGM), Turin, Italy

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Elisabete Weiderpass

Elisabete Weiderpass

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

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Pietro Ferrari

Pietro Ferrari

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Writing - review & editing

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Marc J. Gunter

Marc J. Gunter

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Contribution: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing - review & editing

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Inge Huybrechts

Inge Huybrechts

Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, Lyon, France

Contribution: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing - review & editing

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First published: 08 February 2025

Marc J. Gunter and Inge Huybrechts are considered as joint senior authors.

[Correction added on 01 March 2025, after first online publication: The affiliation of Franziska Jannasch has been updated.]

Abstract

Industrial food processing has been linked to various health outcomes including cancer. To examine associations between the degree of food processing and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its sub-sites, data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) including 6155 incident CRC cases (n = 450,111 participants), were analyzed. Dietary intakes were assessed using baseline food frequency questionnaires. Foods were classified into culinary ingredients, unprocessed, processed (PFs), and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) according to the Nova classification. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for established CRC risk factors, were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) associated with a 10% increase in proportion of consumption (%g/d) of each Nova group. Substitution analysis examined the effect of replacing UPFs and PFs with unprocessed foods on CRC risk. A 10% increase in proportion of UPFs was associated with 6% higher CRC risk (95% CI:1.02–1.10). A positive association was also found between PFs and CRC risk (HR per 10% increase: 1.10 [95% CI, 1.05–1.15]). Conversely, unprocessed food consumption was inversely associated with CRC risk (HR per 10% increase: 0.93[95% CI, 0.90–0.95]). Substitution of 10% of the overall proportion of the diet comprising UPFs or PFs with 10% unprocessed foods was associated with a decreased risk of CRC (HRUPFs: 0.94 [95% CI, 0.90–0.97]; HRPFs: 0.90 [95% CI, 0.86–0.94]). In conclusion, UPF was positively associated with CRC risk while diets richer in unprocessed foods were associated with lower CRC risk. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms by which food processing affects CRC risk.

Graphical Abstract

What's new?

The role of food processing in influencing colorectal cancer development is uncertain. Associations between food processing and colorectal cancer risk were investigated in the EPIC cohort including 6155 cases. Overall, consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and processed foods were positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, while unprocessed foods were associated with lower risk. These findings support the potential of replacing processed foods by minimally processed foods for colorectal cancer prevention.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

For information on how to apply for gaining access to EPIC data and/or biospecimens, please follow the instructions at https://epic.iarc.fr/access/. Further information is available from the corresponding author upon request.

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