Carrot intake is consistently negatively associated with cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies

Charles C. Ojobor,Gerard M. O'Brien,Mario Siervo, Chibueze Ogbonnaya,Kirsten Brandt

CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION(2023)

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Abstract
Carrots are main dietary sources of several potential anti-cancer compounds, including polyacetylenes, while beta-carotene has shown no benefits in controlled cancer trials. Accordingly, associations between carrot intake and cancer incidence were quantified, where necessary using alpha-carotene as a non-causal biomarker of carrot consumption, by searching for studies published before June 2022 reporting risk estimates for relationships of cancer incidence with carrot intake or alpha-carotene intake or alpha-carotene plasma concentration, supplemented with hand searches of included studies and reviews. Meta-analyses comparing highest and lowest reported intakes in prospective studies using a random-effects model estimated summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately for carrot intake or alpha-carotene plasma concentration, and the corresponding dose-responses. Of 198 observational studies, in 50 prospective studies with 52000 cases recording carrot intake, the cancer-risk was substantially reduced (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.87-0.94, p < 0.00004). In 30 prospective studies with 9331 cases reporting plasma alpha-carotene levels, summary RR was 0.80 (0.72-0.89, p < 0.00006). For both exposure types, inter-study heterogeneity was moderate, interaction with cancer types insignificant, and the dose-response significant (p < 0.01). In conclusion, carrot consumption is robustly associated with decreased cancer-risk; carrot consumption should be encouraged, and the causal mechanisms further investigated.
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Key words
Epidemiology,anti-cancer,alpha-carotene,cancer prevention,human nutrition,dose-response
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