Cured meat may be carcinogenic in Asian women

Women who eat cured meat appear to be at heightened risk of developing breast cancer, according to a study from Hong Kong.

The study examined whether preserved foods, which may contain nitrate and nitrite, could contribute to the incidence of breast cancer in a cohort of Chinese women. All participants completed a standardized questionnaire to provide information on dietary factors, including intake of preserved foods such as cured meat, pickled vegetables, canned meat, and canned fruit/vegetables.

The analysis included a total of 1,307 women with breast cancer and 1,050 age-matched controls without cancer, recruited from three hospitals. Researchers performed unconditional multiple logistic regression to evaluate the risk of breast cancer in relation to preserved food with adjustment of potential confounders. Analysis was further stratified according to the breast cancer biology subtypes.

Results showed that cured meat consumption conferred a 32-percent increase in breast cancer risk, with the association being significant (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.32, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.06–1.64).

Of note, the risk increase was more than doubled among women who did vs did not consume cured meat at least once per week (aOR, 2.66, 95 percent CI, 1.38–5.35). Those who ate canned fruit/vegetable at least once per week also had a higher risk of breast cancer (OR, 1.19, 95 percent CI, 1.00–1.41), particularly for the HER2-positive subtypes, but this association was attenuated and became only borderline significant after adjustment of confounders.

The findings suggest that cured meat intake might be a potential novel risk factor for breast cancer, but large prospective cohort studies are needed to validate this.