Red meat link to breast cancer ?

Burgers, bacon, hot dogs, bologna - their effect have taken another hit. Researcher are now reporting that younger woman who indulge a taste of red meat may their chances of getting a common type of breast cancer.

The connection between eating red meat and breast cancer has been studied before, with no clear conclusions. This study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, zeroed in on premenopausal woman between the ages of 26 and 46 and looked not just at overall rates of breast cancer but at the incidence of different types of the disease.

About 60% of breast cancers are fuelled by the hormones oestrogen and progesterone; the thought is that certain components of red meat, including compounds that develop when is cooking and hormones fed to the animal to spur growth, could encourage the development of that kind of cancer.

Researchers analysed the diets and health records of more than 90 000 women over a period of 12 years. About 1000 cases ofbreast cancer developed. Of those, the women who deveoped cancers sensitive to oestrogen and progesterone (about half of all cases in study) had a histry of eating more red meat than either women who didn't get cancer at all or those who had cancers not fuelled by the hormones.

The extra risk range from 14% more for those who ate between three and five servings per week up to nearly double for who ate more than 1.5 servings a day. Red meat included beef, lamb or pork even as a main dish in sandwiches, and in processed form.

The study does not difinitively prove cause and effect. But given that red meat has also been implicated in other forms of cancer and heart disease.

Source : Premium Health News Service/TMSI