Breaking Medical News: Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Breast Cancer

January 8, 2008

Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Breast Cancer A substudy of the Diet, Cancer and Health study, a prospective cohort study established to evaluate the role of diet and

cancer among 24,697 postmenopausal Danish women, was set up to evaluate the relationship between meat consumption and risk of breast cancer. This nested study looked at 378 women who developed breast cancer and matched them to controls who did not develop breast cancer. A higher intake of meat (red meat, poultry, fish, and processed meat) was associated with a significantly higher breast cancer incidence rate. Every 25 gram increase in consumption of total meat, red meat, and processed meat led to a 9, 15, and 23 percent increase in risk of breast cancer, respectively. However, the degree of risk may depend on genetics. Certain genes activate the carcinogens (heterocyclic amines) found in cooked meat. The study showed women with genes that rapidly activate these carcinogens are at particular risk of breast cancer if they eat meat. Egeberg R, Olsen A, Autrup H, et al. Meat

consumption, N-acetyl transferase 1 and 2 polymorphism and risk of breast cancer in Danish postmenopausal women. Eur J Canc Prev. 2008;17:39-47. For information about nutrition and health, please visit www.pcrm.org/. Breaking Medical News is a service of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20016. Physicians Committee for Responsible

Medicine5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400 Washington, DC 20016 Phone: 202-686-2210E-mail: info Forward this message to a friend.Subscribe or from future PCRM Foundation e-mail communicationsView this message as HTML in your

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