ROCKVILLE, Md.—A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that red and processed meat may be positively associated with prostate cancer.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute tracked the meat consumption of more than 175,000 U.S. men between 50 and 71 years of age. In a nine-year follow-up process, they also tracked the method of cooking meat, as well as the men’s intake of heme iron and nitrite/nitrate, the presence of benzo[a]pyrene — a byproduct of combustion of organic material, such as meat or poultry on a grill — and the incidence of prostate cancer.
Comparing the subjects who ate the most meat with those who ate the least, the scientists identified "elevated risks associated with red and processed meat" in all cases of prostate cancer and also in cases in which the cancer was advanced.
