Red meat and eggs decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2002 May 1;155(9):783-92

Study title and authors:

Prospective study of diet and pancreatic cancer in male smokers.

Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D.

Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-7232, USA. rs221z@nih.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11978580

This study examined the connection between diet and pancreatic cancer in 27,111 male smokers aged 50-69.

The study found:

• The men who ate the most wheat products had a 23% increased risk of pancreatic cancer than the men who ate the least wheat products.
• The men who ate the most fried meat had a 2% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least fried meat.
• The men who ate the most red meat had a 5% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least red meat.
• The men who ate the most eggs had a 14% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least eggs.

This study shows that wheat increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas red meat and eggs decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer.