As prostate cancer awareness grows every year, so do concerns over developing prostate problems. One previous suggestion was that a link existed between the dietary intake of red or processed meat and prostate cancer. However, according to a new meta-analysis of 26 studies, researchers have found that consumption of red meat or processed meat has no positive association with the occurrence of prostate cancer.
These most recent results of the study were published in Nutrition Journal. The study looked at data from 15 large scale studies on red meat and 11 studies investigating processed meats and cancer risk. Overall, no association with prostate cancer was found.
“The results of this meta-analysis are not supportive of an independent positive association between red or processed meat intake and prostate cancer,” stated the researchers, led by Dr. Dominik Alexander of Exponent Health Sciences Practice.
Although red or processed meats may not be associated with prostate cancer, the idea of looking to diet and lifestyle choices is a start in reducing the mortality rate of cancer.
The average, Westernized diet is often studied, and many researchers are finding that those who adopt the Western diet have a higher risk of malignancy. “As a result, diet has been the focus of numerous epidemiologic studies of prostate cancer, although findings have not been consistent,” stated the authors.
In one recent systematic review of dietary factors, published in Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers suggested that high meat consumption may increase the risk of prostate cancer. But these same authors confess that other studies are not producing the same results to suggest a positive association.
In their 2007 report on diet and cancer, the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research concluded that there was “limited evidence from sparse and inconsistent studies suggesting that processed meat is a cause of prostate cancer,” and the authors noted that this determination was based on only four cohort studies.
The recent study conducted by Dr. Alexander and his colleagues found no association between consumption of high versus low intake of red meat and total prostate cancer in the meta-analysis of 15 prospective studies.
The researchers also found no association per 100 gram increment of red meat for prostate cancer in a dose-response regression meta-analysis.
“The results of this meta-analysis of prospective studies do not support an independent positive association between intake of red meat or processed meat and prostate cancer,” concluded the researchers. “Summary results for processed meat were weakly elevated; however, the association across the more recently published studies that adjusted for key factors was attenuated and not statistically significant. Furthermore, there was evidence of publication bias across the cohort studies of processed meat,” they added.
The researchers stated that not enough data is available on consumption preferences and dietary mutagens to fully evaluate any potential associations between these factors and prostate cancer.