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Background Epidemiological studies evaluating the association between cruciferous vegetables (CVs) intake and female lung cancer risk have produced inconsistent results. Patients and methods This study followed 74 914 Chinese women aged 40–70 years who participated in the Shanghai Women's Health Study. CV intake was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at baseline and reassessed during follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards models. Furthermore, we carried out a meta-analysis of all observational studies until December 2011. Results After excluding the first 2 years of follow-up, 417 women developed lung cancer over a mean of 11.1 years of follow-up. An inverse association of borderline statistical significance was observed between CV consumption and female lung cancer risk, with HR for the highest compared with the lowest quartiles of 0.73 (95% CI 0.54–1.00, P trend = 0.1607). The association was strengthened in analyses restricting to never smokers, with the corresponding HR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.40–0.87, P trend = 0.0510). The finding of an inverse association between CV intake and lung cancer risk in women was supported by our meta-analysis of 10 included studies. Conclusions Our study suggests that CV consumption may reduce the risk of lung cancer in women, particularly among never smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent associations between cruciferous vegetable (CV) intake and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. To our knowledge, a comprehensive and quantitative assessment of the association between CV intake and CRC has not been reported. Methods Relevant articles were identified by searching MEDLINE. We pooled the relative risks (RR) from individual studies using a random-effect model and carried out heterogeneity and publication bias analyses. Results Twenty-four case–control and 11 prospective studies were included in our analysis. When all studies were pooled, we yielded a significantly inverse association between CV (RR: 0.82; 95% confidence interval 0.75–0.90) intake and CRC risk. Specific analysis for cabbage and broccoli yielded similar result. When separately analyzed, case–control studies of CV intake yield similar results, and the results from the prospective studies showed borderline statistical significance. Moreover, significant inverse associations were also observed in colon cancer and its distal subsite both among prospective and case–control studies. Conclusions Findings from this meta-analysis provide evidence that high intake of CV was inversely associated with the risk of CRC and colon cancer in humans. Further analysis on other specific CV, food preparation methods, stratified results by anatomic cancer site, and subsite of colon cancer should be extended in future study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]