Pancreatic cancer risk: associations with meat-derived carcinogen intake in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening trial (PLCO) cohort.

High consumption of well-cooked meat may increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Well-cooked meat contains mutagens, such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and benzo (a) pyrenes (BaP). This study examined the relationship between the dietary consumption of HCAs and BaPs and pancreatic cancer development risk. Using a validated diet questionnaire, researchers evaluated the frequency of meat consumption, cooking methods, and doneness preferences of 62,581 subjects who had undergone prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening. The mutagenic activity index, pancreatic cancer hazard ratio, and HCA and BaP intake of all the subjects were assessed.

Researchers observed that high intake of well-cooked meat elevated the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. This result shows that eating of meats cooked at high temperatures may be positively associated with increased pancreatic cancer development risk.