Red Meat, Dairy Linked To Pancreatic Cancer Risk

June 29, 2009 7:36 a.m. EST

Bethesda, MD (AHN) - Regularly consuming a diet high in red meat and dairy products could increase one's chances of developing pancreatic cancer, according to U.S researchers.

Scientists with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. analyzed a sample of more than 500,000 people from the National Institute of Health -- AARP Diet and Health study. Participants filled out a food frequency questionnaire in 1995 and 1996 and were followed for about six years to track various illnesses, including pancreatic cancer.

Men who consumed high amounts of red meat and dairy products had a 53-percent higher rate of pancreatic cancer compared to male participants who ate less meat and dairy products. The rate was 23 percent for women, according to a Journal of the National Cancer Institute press release.

"[W]e observed positive associations between pancreatic cancer and intakes of total, saturated, and monounsaturated fat overall, particularly from red meat and dairy food sources. We did not observe any consistent association with polyunsaturated or fat from plant food sources," the authors wrote. "Altogether, these results suggest a role for animal fat in pancreatic carcinogenesis."

The study was published in the June 26 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.