Meat not linked to breast cancer in elderly
Eating red or white meat – including meat cooked at high temperatures – does not increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women despite earlier studies yielding inconsistent reports on the issue.
A new study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, analysed data on 120,755 postmenopausal women who enrolled in a detailed diet and health study in 1995 and 1996, and provided information on food consumed and their meat-preparation methods.
While around 3% developed breast cancer over the next eight years, the researchers found no evidence that the amount of meat consumed or the meat-cooking methods were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The meat intake included steak, hamburger, pork, chicken, and processed meat cooked at high temperatures.
However none of the studies assessed the diets of younger women. The college’s Dr Geoffrey Kabat, a senior epidemiologist said that, “we haven’t ruled out the possibility that eating meat and exposure to meat mutagens at a younger age – particularly during adolescence when the breasts are developing – may increase one’s risk of breast cancer”.
