Do soy products lower the risk of cancer?

Soy products are rich in compounds like isoflavones, phytosterols, and dietary fibre, all of which may mitigate cancer risk. However, research has suggested these effects vary with soy products and cancer types. Cancer rates continue to rise globally, with breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, and stomach cancers leading in terms of both new cases and deaths. Researchers have observed variations in cancer prevalence, which may be attributed to different dietary habits, particularly soy product consumption.

The study analyzed 28 studies involving 24,090 cases and 5,53,282 participants to examine the link between soy product consumption and cancer risk. High soy intake was associated with a 31% reduced risk of cancer, particularly in case-control studies, showing a 24% reduction in women but not men. Additionally, analyzing 7 cohort and 19 case-control studies with 18,729 cases and 3,12,770 participants revealed that high tofu consumption was found to significantly reduce cancer risk by 22% in both males and females.

The results observed a notable risk reduction in gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancers, as well as cancers affecting the gastrointestinal and upper aerodigestive tract, prostate, and lungs. The dose-response analysis indicated non-linear relationships, with increased soy consumption and tofu associated with a reduced cancer risk.

The findings revealed that higher consumption of total soy foods, tofu was associated with a reduced risk of cancer, particularly gastrointestinal and gynaecological cancers. However, evidence regarding other soy products is insufficient, thus necessitating the need for additional well-designed prospective cohort studies.

Reference: Chenting Wang, Keqing Ding, Xuanzhen Xie, Jinyue Zhou,Pengju Liu,Shuang Wang, Ting Fang,Guozhang Xu, Chunlan Tang, Hang Hong; Soy Product Consumption and the Risk of Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies; Journal: Nutrients; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16070986