Cancer Risk Is Lower for Vegetarians But Not Vegans, Study Finds

Vegetarian diets are linked with a lower risk of several cancers including pancreatic, breast and prostate, according to a study that found no similar benefit — and even a higher chance of colon cancer — among vegans.

Researchers found people on vegetarian diets had a lower risk of five cancers compared with their meat-eating counterparts — though vegetarians had nearly double the risk of a cancer in the esophagus called squamous cell carcinoma. The pioneering study, published Friday in the British Journal of Cancer, looked at pooled data from more than 1.8 million people across three continents.