Organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this review is to evaluate the association between organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer among adults.

Introduction: Organic foods differ from traditional food in the methods in which they are produced. There is literature to suggest that they are associated with better health outcomes, including a lower incidence of some cancers. The association between organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer has not yet been synthesized.

Inclusion criteria: Studies that compared organic food consumption to conventional food consumption, measured the incidence of cancer among adults, and captured disease incidence, such as prospective and retrospective cohort methodologies, will be included.

Methods: A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented to retrieve relevant studies from PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, Embase, PsycINFO, Science.gov, Web of Science/Web of Knowledge, and Academic Search Premiere, as well as gray literature sources such as Google Scholar, DARE and Dissertation Abstracts International. The search parameters will include studies for which the full text in English is available, and studies dated 2009 or later, as this was the date of a previous systematic review on the association between organic food consumption and health outcomes that did not find any studies with cancer-related outcomes. Study screening, critical appraisal, and data extraction will be performed independently by pairs of reviewers among the authorship team. Data synthesis will include narrative review and meta-analysis if appropriate.

Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42019126224.