Red meat increases risk of colorectal cancer

Eating red and processed meat increases the risk of people developing colorectal cancer, according to a European prospective study published this week (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2005;97: 906-16). The latest results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) showed that the risk of developing bowel cancer was a third higher for people eating more than two portions a day of red and processed meat than for those eating less than one portion a week. The investigation was set up 10 years ago to research the dietary habits of European people.

Figure 1.

Bowel cancer was higher in heavy consumers of red meat

Credit: NILS JORGENSEN/REX

The study prospectively followed up 478 040 men and women aged 25-70 years from 10 European countries. All were free of cancer at enrolment between 1992 and 1998. Information on diet and lifestyle was collected at baseline. A total of 1329 incident colorectal cancers were documented after a mean follow-up of 4.8 years.

The data showed that colorectal cancer risk was positively associated with eating red and processed meat. The risk was 35% higher in people eating the highest amounts of these foods (>160 g/day) compared with those eating the lowest amounts (<20 g/day) (hazard ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.88; P=0.03). The absolute risk of developing of colorectal cancer within 10 years for a study participant aged 50 years was 1.71% for people eating the most red and processed meat and 1.28% for those with the lowest intake.

In contrast, the risk of colorectal cancer was inversely associated with eating fish. There was a risk reduction of nearly one third (31%) for people who consumed one portion or more of fish every other day (>80 g/day), compared with those who ate fish less than once a week (<10 g/day) (0.69, 0.54 to 0.88; P<0.001).