Red meat and dietary cholesterol offer protection from pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 2009 Sep 1;125(5):1118-26

Study title and authors:

Meat and fat intake and pancreatic cancer risk in the Netherlands Cohort Study.

Heinen MM, Verhage BA, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA.

Department of Epidemiology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. mirjam.heinen@epid.unimaas.nl

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19452526

This study examined the relationship between pancreatic cancer risk and intake of fresh meat, eggs, total fat, and different types of fat. The diets of 120,852 men and women were analyzed over a 13.3 year period.

The study found:

• Those that consumed the most meat had a 24% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least meat.
• Those that consumed the most red meat had a 46% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least red meat.
• Those that consumed the most pork had a 25% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least pork.
• Those that consumed the most eggs had a 16% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least eggs.
• Those that consumed the most fat had a 5% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least fat.
• Those that consumed the most meat fat had a 37% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least meat fat.
• Those that consumed the most dietary cholesterol had a 27% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least dietary cholesterol.

This study reveals that red meat, fat and dietary cholesterol offer protection from pancreatic cancer.