Diets high in red meat and saturated fat decrease the incidence of pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2003 Jun 15;157(12):1115-25

Study title and authors:

Dietary meat, dairy products, fat, and cholesterol and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study.

Michaud DS, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS.

Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA. michaudd@mail.nih.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12796048

This study, of 4 years, examined the relationship of diet and the risk of pancreatic cancer in 88,802 women.

The study found:

(a) Women who ate the most saturated fat had a 5% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to women who ate the least saturated fat.

(b) Women who ate the most butter had an 11% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to women who ate the least butter.

(c) Women who ate the most meat had a 6% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to women who ate the least meat.

(d) Women who ate the most red meat had a 13% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to women who ate the least red meat.

This results of the study show that red meat and saturated fat offer protection from pancreatic cancer.