Although there are reports that
artificial sweeteners (AS) are safe, the relationship between
artificial sweeteners and
cancer remains controversial. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether the consumption of
artificial sweeteners is associated with the risk of
cancers. We conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. We found all the literature that studied the relationship between
artificial sweeteners and
cancer. Ten case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis. Our findings indicated that the consumption of
artificial sweeteners was not associated with an increase in
cancer when all types of
cancers are analyzed comprehensively (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.75-1.11). Interestingly, the use of
artificial sweeteners is inversely related to urinary system
cancer risk when analyzing women individually (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.60-0.97). Our meta-analysis found that these is no correlation between
artificial sweeteners and occurrence of
cancer except urinary system
cancer in women. Considering some limitations found in this study, additional data from large clinical trials are needed.