Dec 19, 2025 05:08 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1110547
INTRO: A study from Rutgers Cancer Institute researchers in eClinicalMedicine is the first to link ultra-processed foods to reduced survival in Black women with breast cancer.
Black patients with breast cancer who ate the most ultra-processed foods before diagnosis were 36-40% more likely to die from their cancers or other causes of death than those who ate the fewest ultra-processed foods.
"Black women have the highest mortality rate from breast cancer compared with other racial or ethnic groups in the U.S.," said Tengteng Wang, lead author of the study and a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health. "That's why we wanted to see what factors might contribute to these differences."
The researchers followed 1,733 Black women diagnosed with breast cancer in New Jersey between 2005 and 2019 in the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-Up Study (WCHFS), which was led by Elisa Bandera, professor and chief of the Department of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. During home interviews conducted about 10 months after diagnosis, participants completed detailed food questionnaires covering the year before their cancer was detected. Researchers then followed up with the women for a median of 9.3 years.
Women who ate the most ultra-processed food averaged more than eight servings per day. Those who ate the least averaged fewer than three servings daily. In addition to 40% higher breast cancer mortality linked with the highest UPF intake, women in the top UPF consumption tier were 36% more likely to die of any cause than those in the lowest tier.
Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations that typically contain additives, preservatives and ingredients not used in home cooking. The category includes most sodas, deli meats, sweets/desserts, salty snacks, pre-prepared fast foods/mixed dishes – basically everything in the center aisles of a supermarket – and it now accounts for roughly 40-60% of calories in the American diet.
The findings echo the only other study to examine whether ultra-processed foods are associated with cancer death... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: A study from Rutgers Cancer Institute researchers in eClinicalMedicine is the first to link ultra-processed foods to reduced survival in Black women with breast cancer.
Black patients with breast cancer who ate the most ultra-processed foods before diagnosis were 36-40% more likely to die from their cancers or other causes of death than those who ate the fewest ultra-processed foods.
"Black women have the highest mortality rate from breast cancer compared with other racial or ethnic groups in the U.S.," said Tengteng Wang, lead author of the study and a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health. "That's why we wanted to see what factors might contribute to these differences."
The researchers followed 1,733 Black women diagnosed with breast cancer in New Jersey between 2005 and 2019 in the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-Up Study (WCHFS), which was led by Elisa Bandera, professor and chief of the Department of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. During home interviews conducted about 10 months after diagnosis, participants completed detailed food questionnaires covering the year before their cancer was detected. Researchers then followed up with the women for a median of 9.3 years.
Women who ate the most ultra-processed food averaged more than eight servings per day. Those who ate the least averaged fewer than three servings daily. In addition to 40% higher breast cancer mortality linked with the highest UPF intake, women in the top UPF consumption tier were 36% more likely to die of any cause than those in the lowest tier.
Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations that typically contain additives, preservatives and ingredients not used in home cooking. The category includes most sodas, deli meats, sweets/desserts, salty snacks, pre-prepared fast foods/mixed dishes – basically everything in the center aisles of a supermarket – and it now accounts for roughly 40-60% of calories in the American diet.
The findings echo the only other study to examine whether ultra-processed foods are associated with cancer death... (MORE - details, no ads)
