Cohort studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-GRN-118 standard review

Rice was not clearly linked to cancer in US women

Association between rice consumption and risk of cancer incidence in the California Teachers Study.

Overview

Sanchez TR et al.. Cancer Causes Control 2020 · PMID 32974796 · DOI 10.1007/s10552-020-01350-9

Rice intake was not associated with most arsenic-related cancers; breast cancer showed a borderline 7% higher risk.

Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: moderate

Study explained simply

What did the researchers want to find out?: Test rice and cancer.
How was the study done?: Cohort study.
How many people, animals or samples were studied?: Large cohort of women.
What was actually found?: Mostly no association.
How large was the observed effect?: HR 0.87-1.11.
What do the results mean in everyday life?: Low intakes did not show clear harm.
What are the study's limitations?: Low intake, no biomarker.
What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?: Partly supports low concern at normal intake.
Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?: Moderate.
What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?: Cannot reassure about high intakes or infants.

Authors: Sanchez TR et al.
Journal: Cancer Causes Control
Year: 2020
Identifier: PMID 32974796 DOI 10.1007/s10552-020-01350-9 · PMC7572641
Verification: verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26; Crossref works API 2026-10-26
Retracted: no
Corrections: none
Extent checked: abstract only
Conflicts of interest and funding: NIH (NCI, NIEHS) grants

Is rice consumption associated with incidence of arsenic-related cancers?

Study design: Cohort study – Prospective cohort (California Teachers Study)
Population: Women in the California Teachers Study
Country: USA
Period: not stated in abstract
Sample size: not stated in abstract (cases: 7351 breast, 1100 lung, 411 pancreatic, 344 bladder, 238 kidney)
Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Cohort participants

Results: Highest vs lowest quartile HR: breast 1.07 (1.00-1.15), lung 0.87 (0.72-1.04), pancreatic 0.95 (0.66-1.37), bladder 1.11 (0.81-1.52), kidney 1.07 (0.72-1.59).
Absolute risks: not reported
Authors' conclusion: Rice was not associated with kidney, lung or pancreatic cancer; possibly a small excess for breast and a non-significant excess for bladder cancer; studies in high-intake populations needed.

Mostly null; low intakes limit power to detect arsenic effects.

Partial support: no clear cancer signal from rice at low US intakes.

Low intakes; I-GRN-06 risk assessment.

Moderate.

Weak null evidence.

Multidimensional assessment
Multidimensional assessment
Authenticity of the source	verified
Methodological quality	moderate
Risk of bias	some concerns
Precision of results	moderate
Directness	indirect
Reproducibility	not replicated
Consistency with the overall evidence	mixed
Regional transferability	moderate
Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive)	not applicable

High-intake populations with biomarkers.