Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods and Drinks and Colorectal, Breast and Prostate Cancer in the Multicase-Control Study (MCC)-Spain

Background: Consumption of ultra-processed products has increased worldwide and some of their components have been suggested to be carcinogenic. We studied whether the consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks was associated with breast, colorectal and prostate cancers.Methods: Multicentric population-based case-control study (MCC-Spain) conducted in 12 Spanish provinces. Participants were men and women between 20-85 years of age with diagnoses of colorectal (n=1852), breast (n=1486) or prostate cancer (n=953), and population-based controls (n=3543) frequency-matches by age, sex and region. Dietary intake was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Foods and drinks were categorized according to their degree of processing based on the NOVA classification. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between ultra-processed food and drink consumption and colorectal, breast and prostate cancer.Results: In multiple adjusted models, consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks was associated with higher risk of colorectal cancer (OR for an increment of 10% in consumption: 1.11; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.18). The corresponding odds for breast (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.11) or prostate cancer (OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.12) were indicative of no association. Conclusions: Results of this large population-based case-control study suggest an association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks and colorectal cancer. Food policy and public health should include a focus on food processing when formulating dietary guidelines.