Meat, fish, dairy products and risk of hematological malignancies in adults – a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies examine the association of meat, fish, and dairy product consumption with the risk of hematological neoplasms in adults. Thirteen studies encompassing 1,480,986 participants and 10,442 incident cases were included. Red or processed meat consumption was not associated with the risk of leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL/SLL). Poultry consumption did not seem to affect the risk of leukemia, NHL, CLL/SLL, and multiple myeloma (MM). Fish consumption was not associated with leukemia, NHL, CLL/SLL, and MM risk. Interestingly though, fish consumption was positively associated with myeloid leukemia risk (pooled RR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.22–2.47, random effects, highest vs. lowest category). Milk and dairy product consumption was not associated with NHL and leukemia risk. In conclusion, methodologically strict prospective studies are mandatory, in order to extract reliable conclusions concerning the role of these dietary factors in hematological malignancies.

Keywords:

• Hematological cancer
• meat
• fish
• dairy product
• meta-analysis

Acknowledgements

We are extremely thankful to and acknowledge the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), for the grant named ‘Identifying the role of nutrition, physical activity and body size in hematological malignancies through systematic reviews and meta-analyses’ funded by Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WCRF NL) and administered by WCRF International as part of the WCRF International program [Grant number: 2013/995].

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2018.1563693.