Towards refining World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research cancer prevention recommendations for red and processed meat intake: insights from Alberta's Tomorrow Project cohort

Current cancer prevention recommendations advise limiting red meat intake to <500 g/week and avoiding consumption of processed meat, but do not differentiate the source of processed meat. We examined the associations of processed meat derived from red v. non-red meats with cancer risk in a prospective cohort of 26 218 adults who reported dietary intake using the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire. Incidence of cancer was obtained through data linkage with Alberta Cancer Registry with median follow-up of 13 center dot 3 (interquartile range (IQR) 5 center dot 1) years. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were adjusted for covariates and stratified by age and sex. The median consumption (g/week) of red meat, processed meat from red meat and processed meat from non-red meat was 267 center dot 9 (IQR 269 center dot 9), 53 center dot 6 (IQR 83 center dot 3) and 11 center dot 9 (IQR 31 center dot 8), respectively. High intakes (4th Quartile) of processed meat from red meat were associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 1 center dot 68 (95 % CI 1 center dot 09, 2 center dot 57) and colorectal cancers AHR: 1 center dot 90 (95 % CI 1 center dot 12, 3 center dot 22), respectively, in women. No statistically significant associations were observed for intakes of red meat or processed meat from non-red meat. Results suggest that the carcinogenic effect associated with processed meat intake may be limited to processed meat derived from red meats. The findings provide preliminary evidence towards refining cancer prevention recommendations for red and processed meat intake.