Cancer survivors who consumed more ultraprocessed foods had significantly higher risks of death from any cause and from cancer over long-term follow-up.
Cancer survivors who reported eating larger amounts of ultraprocessed foods were found to have a higher risk of dying from both any cause and from cancer itself, according to research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Ultraprocessed foods are widely considered unhealthy because they tend to contain fewer essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Industrial production methods often introduce additives, artificial flavorings, preservatives, emulsifiers, and high levels of added sugars and unhealthy fats that the human body is not well adapted to process, explained lead author Marialaura Bonaccio, PhD, of the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention at IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy.
As these foods become more common in diets around the world, Bonaccio noted that researchers are increasingly interested in whether reducing their consumption could help cancer survivors live longer and maintain better health.
“What people eat after a cancer diagnosis may influence survival, but most research in this population has focused only on nutrients, not how processed the food is,” Bonaccio said. “The substances involved in the industrial processing of foods can interfere with metabolic processes, disrupt gut microbiota, and promote inflammation. As a result, even when an ultraprocessed food has a similar calorie content and nutritional composition on paper compared to a minimally processed or ‘natural’ food, it could still have a more harmful effect on the body.”
Long-term cohort tracks cancer survivors
The findings come from the Moli-sani Study, a large prospective cohort investigation that followed 24,325 adults living in the Molise region of Southern Italy. Participants were enrolled between March 2005 and December 2022 and were at least 35 years old at the start of the study.
Within this population, researchers identified 802 individuals who were already cancer survivors at baseline (476 women and 326 men).
Each participant provided detailed dietary information using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) food frequency questionnaire.
Researchers then used the NOVA classification system to determine whether foods fell into the ultraprocessed category. NOVA divides foods into four groups based on how much industrial processing they undergo and the purpose of that processing.
