Illness Researcher

Fruits

Suggested

2 studies · 1 recommendation

Last updated: February 25, 2026

Fruits – Colorectal Cancer
Suggested2 studies

Higher fruit intake linked to significantly reduced colorectal cancer risk

Two case-control studies involving over 20,000 participants consistently demonstrate an inverse association between fruit consumption and colorectal cancer risk. A large pooled analysis of 9,287 cases and 9,117 controls across ten studies found that each quartile increase in fruit intake corresponded to a statistically significant decrease in colorectal cancer risk. A Hong Kong study of 822 cases and 926 controls confirmed a clear dose-response relationship: the highest tertile of weekly fruit intake reduced colon cancer risk by 46% (adjusted OR=0.54, P trend=0.002) and rectal cancer risk by 42% (adjusted OR=0.58, P trend=0.012). Even moderate fruit consumption (second tertile) showed a 29% risk reduction for both subsites. The protective effect was consistent across colorectal subsites and study populations.

Evidence

Genome-Wide Diet-Gene Interaction Analyses for Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Authors: A Tenesa, AD Skol, AH Nguyen, AL Price, AM Nomura, Andrew T. Chan, Anja Rudolph, AY Liu, B Mukherjee, B Woolf, Barbara Fortini, Bette J. Caan, Brent W. Zanke, Brian E. Henderson, BW Zanke, C Kooperberg, Carolyn M. Hutter, CC Dahm, CE Murcray, Christopher I. Amos, Christopher S. Carlson, CJ Hoggart, CL Pearce, CM Hutter, Conghui Qu, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Daniela Seminara, David Duggan, DD Alexander, DD Alexander, Deanna L. Stelling, E Giovannucci, Edward L. Giovannucci, Emily White, F Dudbridge, FJ van Duijnhoven, Fredrick R. Schumacher, GA Colditz, GP Christophi, Graham Casey, Greg S. Warnick, H Brenner, Hermann Brenner, I Fortier, I Ionita-Laza, I Pe'er, I Tomlinson, IP Tomlinson, J Chou, J Lin, Jane C. Figueiredo, JC Figueiredo, Jenny Chang-Claude, Jian Gong, John A. Baron, John D. Potter, John L. Hopper, JY Dai, JY Dai, K Roeder, Kana Wu, Keith R. Curtis, KR Rosenbloom, L Hsu, Laurence N. Kolonel, Li Hsu, Loic Le Marchand, M Cotterchio, M Hedlund, M Hoffmeister, Mark A. Jenkins, Mark Thornquist, Martha L. Slattery, Mathieu Lemire, Michael Hoffmeister, Michelle Cotterchio, ML Slattery, N Risch, NJ Ollberding, P Broderick, PA Newcomb, PC Prorok, Peter T. Campbell, Polly A. Newcomb, QJ Wu, R Siegel, R Zheng, RB Gupta, Richard B. Hayes, Robert E. Schoen, Robert W. Haile, RS Houlston, S Jiao, S Kury, Shuo Jiao, SN Bennett, Sonja I. Berndt, Stephanie A. Rosse, Stephen J. Chanock, Stephen N. Thibodeau, Steven Gallinger, T Hosoya, Tabitha A. Harrison, U Peters, Ulrike Peters, W. James Gauderman, WG Christen, WH Jia, WJ Gauderman, WW Piegorsch, Y Park, Yi Lin

Published: January 1, 2014

A pooled case-control analysis of 9,287 cases and 9,117 controls across ten studies demonstrated that per quartile increment in fruit intake was associated with statistically significant decreased colorectal cancer risk. The study examined gene-diet interactions with approximately 2.7 million genetic variants, and the inverse association between fruit intake and colorectal cancer was observed consistently in the overall dietary analysis.

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A case-control study on environmental and familial risk factors for colorectal cancer in Hong Kong: dietary determinants of colorectal cancer risk

Authors: Ho, JWC, Lam, TH, Yuen, ST

Published: January 1, 2006

Cases reported significantly lower mean weekly fruit intake than controls (5.99±4.55 vs 7.30±5.41, P<0.001). Increasing tertiles of weekly fruit intake were associated with progressively reduced risk in a dose-response manner for colon cancer (highest tertile adjusted OR=0.54; P trend=0.002) and rectal cancer (highest tertile adjusted OR=0.58; P trend=0.012). The second tertile showed adjusted ORs of 0.71 for both subsites, confirming the graded protective relationship across 822 cases and 926 controls.

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