Breast
Cancer Risk Linked to Red Meat for Young Women
Steaks, hamburgers, and other red meat could raise
younger women's risk for an estrogen-linked form of breast cancer,
says a report in Archives of Internal Medicine.
 "Hormone receptor-positive" breast cancers are stimulated
by higher levels of estrogen or progesterone circulating in the body,” says
Dr. Eunyoung Cho, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical
School. “A majority of breast cancers fall into this category.
We found that higher red meat intake may be a risk factor for hormone
receptor-positive breast cancer among premenopausal women. "The majority of breast cancer is hormone receptor-positive,
and the incidence of hormone receptor-positive tumors has been increasing
in the United States," she adds.
Earlier studies have looked at the association between
breast cancer and red meat but only among postmenopausal women and
without distinguishing between types of breast cancer.
The results of these studies are largely inconclusive,
notes Dr. Cho.
In the new study, Dr. Cho's team collected data
on 90,659 female nurses ages 26 to 46 taking part in the ongoing Nurses
Health Study II. The women were followed from 1991 through 2003.
The researchers excluded postmenopausal women and
women who had had cancer. During follow-up, 1,021 women developed breast
cancer. Of these cases, 512 were hormone receptor-positive cancers.
Dr. Cho's group found that women who had one-and-a-half
servings of red meat a day had nearly double the risk for hormone receptor-positive
cancer compared with women who ate less than three servings of red
meat per week.
The researchers speculate that the increased risk
may be linked to carcinogens found in cooked or processed red meat,
hormone treatments used to spur growth in cattle, and the type of iron
found in red meat.
"Prevention of other chronic diseases, including
colon cancer, already provides a good reason for choosing a diet low
in red meat," Dr. Cho says. "So, our findings provide another reason
for women to reduce their red meat intake."
One expert believes more study is needed, however.
"This is the first study that has actually examined
the association between breast cancer and the intake of red meat in
premenopausal women by type of cancer," says Dr. Eugenia Calle, at
the American Cancer Society. "But it's
just one study.”
These results need to be replicated in other studies "before
we can believe this association is true," notes Dr. Calle.
Other studies that have looked for a connection
between red meat and breast cancer have not found a link, she notes.
Although these studies did not look specifically
at receptor-positive breast cancer, this type of breast cancer makes
up half of all cases.
"If there was something going on in that group,
one would think that you would see a hint of it," explains Dr. Calle.
Despite these doubts, Dr. Calle agrees that there
is an association between red meat and other cancers, such a colorectal
cancer. So, she concurs with the dietary recommendations of the American
Cancer Society to avoid red meat.
"We recommend that people limit their consumption
of processed and red meat, and eat fruits and vegetables and unrefined
grains," says Dr. Calle. "We recommend this diet for many reasons.
Whether breast cancer will end up being one of those reasons - I'm
not sure at this point."
Always consult your physician for more information. |
