Abstract

A growing body of evidence indicates the association of dietary advanced glycation end-products (dAGEs) with the risk of cancer. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the overall association between dAGEs and cancer incidence. An extensive search was carried out through online databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to June 2024. All reported HRs and their 95 CIs for risk of cancer were used to estimate log HRs and their standard errors (SEs). The overall risk estimate was obtained using a random effects model. Inter-study heterogeneity was determined using Cochrane's Q test and I-squared. Five prospective cohort studies with a total of 1,220,096 participants and 23,229 incident cancer cases (2193 pancreatic cancers, 11,443 breast cancers, 6162 colorectal cancers, and 3431 total cancers) were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with the lowest category of dAGEs, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall cancers was 1.04 (95 CI: 0.94, 1.15; I2 = 67.9) for the highest category of dAGEs. Pooled estimates for different types of cancer showed no significant relationship between dAGEs and risk of breast cancer (HR: 1.119; 95 CI: 0.868, 1.444; I2 = 77.6; N = 2 studies), pancreatic cancer (HR: 1.242; 95 CI: 0.971, 1.588; I2 = 0.0; N = 2 studies), colon cancer (HR: 10.985; 95 CI: 0.887, 1.094; I2 = 0.0; N = 2 studies) and rectal cancer (HR: 0.940; 95 CI: 0.616, 1.433; I2 = 57.7; N = 2 studies). Dietary AGEs had no significant link with cancer risk. More well-designed prospective studies are required. © 2024 The Author(s). Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.