Meat and Meat-Mutagen Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in the NIH-AARP Cohort

Abstract

Meat intake, particularly red meat, has been positively associated with pancreatic cancer in some epidemiologic studies. Detailed meat-cooking methods and related mutagens formed in meat cooked at high temperatures have not been evaluated prospectively as risk factors for this malignancy. We investigated the association between meat, meat-cooking methods, meat-mutagen intake, and exocrine pancreatic cancer in the NIH-American Association of Retired Persons (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study cohort of 537,302 individuals, aged 50 to 71 years, with complete baseline dietary data (1995)(1996) ascertained from a food frequency questionnaire. A meat-cooking module was completed by 332,913 individuals 6 months after baseline. During 5 years of follow-up, 836 incident pancreatic cancer cases (555 men, 281 women) were identified. Four hundred and fifty-nine cases had complete meat module data. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Total, red, and high-temperature cooked meat intake was positively associated with pancreatic cancer among men (fifth versus first quintile: HR, 1.41, 95% CI, 1.08-1.83, P trend = 0.001; HR, 1.42, 95% CI, 1.05-1.91, P trend = 0.01; and HR, 1.52, 95% CI, 1.12-2.06, P trend = 0.005, respectively), but not women. Men showed significant 50% increased risks for the highest tertile of grilled/barbecued and broiled meat and significant doubling of risk for the highest quintile of overall meat-mutagenic activity (P trends < 0.01). The fifth quintile of the heterocyclic amine, 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline intake showed a significant 29% (P trend = 0.006) increased risk in men and women combined. These findings support the hypothesis that meat intake, particularly meat cooked at high temperatures and associated mutagens, may play a role in pancreatic cancer development. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2664 -75)

Meat and fat intake and pancreatic cancer risk in the Netherlands Cohort Study

“…11,13 In addition, some other studies have observed positive associations with meat-derived HCAs and benzo(a)pyrene, a marker of PAHs, and pancreatic cancer risk. 11,41,42 Regarding fresh red meat intake, we observed a statistically significant inverse association with pancreatic cancer among microscopically verified cases, although this decrease was only observed for the highest versus the lowest quintile. The risk estimates for red meat intake seemed to change, however, during follow-up, although the interaction with time was not significant.…”

“…3 To date, 11 cohort studies have investigated the relation between the intake of total meat, different meat types and eggs and pancreatic cancer risk. 3,6,[8][9][10][11][12] Two studies have observed a positive association with total meat intake, 3,11 the Multiethnic Cohort Study has observed increased risks with the intake of beef and pork, 3 and a cohort among 7th-day Adventists has observed a positive association with egg intake. 3 Inverse associations were observed with the intake of pork in a study of Swedish twins 8 and with the intake of poultry among Swedish women.…”

“…Five cohort studies have showed an increased risk for the highest versus lowest intake, 3,11 which was statistically significant in four. 3,11 Of the case-control studies, 6 have observed an increased risk for the highest versus the lowest intake, 3,6,13,15 which was statistically significant in two.…”

“…6,7 Since then, numerous epidemiological studies have investigated the relation between meat, eggs, and different types of fat and pancreatic cancer, including 15 prospective cohort studies 3,6,[8][9][10][11][12] and 31 case-control studies. 3,6,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In a recent Expert Panel Report, it was concluded that there is limited evidence suggesting that red meat is a cause of pancreatic cancer in humans.…”

Pattern of Prostate Specific Antigen Request in a Nigeria Tertiary Health Care: A Decade Review

“…This has been associated to the fact that smoked food contains Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, and poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame is said to predispose to cancer generally [21]. Previous studies have reported that high consumption of well-done, fried, or barbecued meats was associated with increased risks of colorectal [22], pancreatic [23,24], and prostate [24,25] cancer. There is therefore a probability of association in our population cohort in relation to prostate cancer.…”