Drinking a can of soda every day barely registers as a health concern for most people. Compared to smoking, sedentary living, or a diet full of processed meat, it seems almost trivial. But a major new study from Mass General Brigham established for the first time a statistical link between daily sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and stomach cancer in an American population.
The numbers are not marginal. After accounting for other potential risk factors, participants who consumed at least one serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage per day had a 2.45-fold higher risk of gastric cancer compared with those who consumed less than one serving per month. The study analyzed data from 112,284 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, both of which gathered detailed dietary, lifestyle, and health information on US adults over many decades. During that follow-up period, 278 participants developed gastric cancer.
Senior author Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, noted that “this is the first study to demonstrate an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer in a US population,” adding that “gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but we’ve known very little about how diet might contribute to this cancer.” The findings were published in Gastro Hep Advances, a peer-reviewed journal focused on gastrointestinal health.
The Numbers Behind the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Cancer Link
The risk was not uniform across sexes. Women who consumed at least one serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage daily faced roughly a threefold higher risk of gastric cancer, while men had approximately double the risk, both compared to people who consumed these drinks rarely or not at all.
The study also addressed whether artificially sweetened drinks carry the same risks. Researchers found that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks daily was associated with an increased risk of developing gastric cancer, while artificially sweetened beverages were not associated with an increased risk. That distinction is relevant to the research, though it does not amount to an endorsement of diet sodas for other health reasons.
Approximately 65% of US adults report consuming one or more sugar-sweetened beverages every day, which gives the scale of potential exposure implied by the study considerable weight.
Why Stomach Cancer Deserves More Attention
Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Because stomach cancer screening is not routine in the United States – unlike colonoscopy for colorectal cancer – most cases are not caught until symptoms appear, and symptoms typically emerge late. Reducing modifiable risk factors before disease develops is the primary protective strategy available.
The single largest known risk factor for gastric cancer remains Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterial infection that damages the stomach lining and raises cancer risk substantially over time. Several dietary exposures have also been associated with gastric cancer risk, and prior research on sugar-sweetened beverages had produced inconclusive results, possibly due to limited data.
What’s Happening Inside the Body
Researchers have not yet pinpointed the biological mechanism connecting sugary drinks to stomach cancer, but they have proposed several candidates. The study authors point to “weight gain, insulin resistance, steroid hormone imbalance, inflammation, DNA damage, and dysbiosis” as possible underlying mechanisms. Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in the gut microbiome – the community of bacteria living in the digestive tract – which plays a role in immune function and cellular health.
Fructose, the primary sweetener in most sodas, fruit punches, and sports drinks, is metabolized differently from glucose. Unlike glucose, which cells throughout the body can use, fructose is processed almost exclusively by the liver, where excess quantities can promote fat accumulation and disrupt insulin signaling. That metabolic disruption – including elevated insulin levels and chronic low-grade inflammation – is considered a plausible pathway to cancer cell promotion, though the causal mechanism in gastric cancer specifically has not been established. Higher total fructose intake was also associated with greater gastric cancer incidence in the study.
The cancer risk profile of sugary drinks was already known to extend across multiple organ systems. Previous studies had linked sugar-sweetened beverages with an increased risk of breast cancer, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer, though evidence on gastric cancer had been limited. This study is the first to establish the association in a US population.
Read More: Common Condiment May Increase Stomach Cancer Risk By 40%, Study Finds
The Limits of What the Study Can Prove
The research has real limitations that Dr. Chan himself acknowledged. Chan stated that “the study is unable to really prove cause and effect,” adding, “what we did see was an association. We certainly need to do more research to understand whether this association between sugary sweetened beverages and stomach cancer is truly causal.”
The study design is observational, meaning researchers tracked what participants reported eating and drinking and then observed who developed cancer years later. That design is effective for identifying associations, but it cannot eliminate all confounding variables, even with statistical controls. Someone who drinks a soda every day may also have other dietary habits that contribute to risk.
There is also a diversity limitation. The participants were predominantly White healthcare professionals, meaning the findings need to be confirmed across more diverse populations. The Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, while among the longest-running and most rigorous dietary cohort studies in the United States, draw from a specific professional and demographic group.
The researchers say further studies are needed to confirm the findings and investigate why these beverages might increase gastric cancer risk. The study also had limited information on H. pylori status and family history of gastric cancer, two known confounders that future research will need to address more fully.
What to Do Now
The American Cancer Society recommends following a healthy eating pattern that avoids or limits red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, and highly processed foods. That guidance predates this study, which adds a gastric cancer-specific data point that had not previously existed for a US population.
For anyone consuming sugary drinks daily, the most direct swap is water, plain sparkling water, unsweetened coffee, or unsweetened tea. These replacements eliminate both the fructose load and the caloric surplus that drives weight gain, which is itself a risk factor for several cancers. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health notes that people who consume sugary drinks regularly have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, meaning the risk profile of these beverages extends well beyond any single disease.
The stomach cancer finding adds to an already substantial case against daily sugary drink consumption – a case built on links to cardiovascular disease, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with over 180,000 deaths annually worldwide. Whether the stomach cancer link is eventually confirmed as causal or remains a strong correlation, the direction of the evidence is consistent.
For regular soda, fruit punch, or sports drink consumers, the study suggests reducing intake need not wait for a definitive causal verdict. Gastric cancer, with its poor late-stage survival odds and lack of routine screening, is a disease where prevention carries more weight than treatment.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for information only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition and/or current medication. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.
Read More: Stomach Cancer in Young Adults Is Increasing—Watch for These 6 Early Signs