The anti-cancer effects of vegetables and fruits have been widely studied, but the relationship between vegetable and fruit consumption and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been quantified. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to clarify the relationship. The results were recently published in Gastroenterology, a leading international academic journal. The researchers identified eligible studies published from 1956 to May 31, 2014 by searching PubMed, EMBASE and other databases. Studies used random effects models to calculate the total relative risk (RR) and quantitative associations using dose-response analysis. Heterogeneity in studies was assessed using Cochran’sQ and I2 statistics. A total of 19 studies involving 1290045 subjects and 3912 HCC cases were included in this analysis. The total HCC RR was 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63 to 0.83) for patients with high vegetable intake vs. those with low intake and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.88 to 0.95) for patients with increased vegetable intake (100 g/day). Subgroup analysis showed that this negative correlation was not associated with changes in hepatitis history, alcohol consumption, smoking or energy intake. The total RR for HCC was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.80 to 1.09) for high fruit intake compared to patients with low intake, and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.94 to 1.05) for increased fruit intake per day (100 g/day). The study concluded that increased vegetable intake, but not fruit, was associated with a lower risk of liver cancer. The risk of liver cancer was reduced by 8% for each 100 g/day increase in vegetable intake. Future studies with questionnaires and strict control of confounding factors should be used to further confirm the findings of this study.