Study Links Processed Meat to Cancer

LYON, France (AP) - Eating lots of preserved meats such as salami, bacon,
cured ham and hot dogs could increase the risk of bowel cancer by 50
percent, early results of a major new study have suggested.

However, when it came to fresh red meat - beef, lamb, pork and veal - there
seemed to be no link.

Previous studies have linked high meat intake to colorectal cancer, but
almost all the studies grouped fresh and processed meats together.

The latest findings come from an ongoing study experts say is the most
reliable research into the influence of diet on cancer to date - an
investigation involving almost half a million people, from southern Greece
to northern Norway. However, that does not mean red meat has been cleared of
suspicion, said Dr. Arthur Schatzkin, chief of nutritional epidemiology at
the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

"These results are very preliminary," said Schatzkin, who was not involved
in the study. "There's more narrowing down that has to be done before we can
draw any conclusions."

The study, presented Friday in Lyon at the European Conference on Nutrition
and Cancer, is being coordinated by the World Health Organization's
International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Experts say the findings show the issue is more complex than previously
thought, and that it's not as simple as meat being either cancer-promoting
or not. Scientists are learning that factors such as cooking methods and
duration, and cuts of meat must also be considered.

Some research has suggested that frying or barbecuing may add
cancer-promoting chemicals to meat and that a crispy lamb chop or a
well-done steak may contain undesirable compounds.

"This points us in the direction we need to go. The only firm conclusion is
that lumping fresh and processed meat together is inappropriate," said
Martin Wiseman, a professor at the Institute of Human Nutrition in
Southampton, England, who was not involved with the research.

"But now, what about hamburgers? Are they processed or fresh meat? And
meatballs? Where do they fit in? We are just starting to disentangle all
this," Wiseman said.

The study's coordinator, Dr. Elio Riboli, chief of the nutrition division at
the International Agency for Research on Cancer, told scientists no link was
seen when all red meat was examined as one group.

But when the processed meat, which is usually red meat, was investigated
alone, those who ate an average of 2 ounces per day - the equivalent of a
thick slice or two of smoked ham, four slivers of Parma ham or one giant hot
dog - had a 50 percent greater chance of developing cancer of the colon or
rectum than those who ate no preserved meat.

"However, we could not, so far, take into account cooking methods in our
analysis," Riboli said. "So we could not, for the time being, separate red
meat consumption depending on whether it was consumed well done or rare.
Therefore, these are just intermediate results."