Summary of evidence on associations between consumption of red meat and risk of CRC: Studies are level II evidence.
| STUDY | DETAILS OF STUDY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|
| Bidoli et al,6 1992 | Case-control study: 123 patients with colon cancer and 125 patients with rectal cancer were compared with 699 controls | Red meat unfavourably affected risk of rectal cancer in particular |
| La Vecchia et al,7 1996 | % risk in population attributable to intake of red meat estimated from data collected by Bidoli et al6 | Frequency of intake of red meat explained 17% of all CRC cases; low intake of β-carotene and vitamin C explained 43% of all CRC cases |
| Probst-Hensch et al,81997 | Case-control study: 488 matched pairs | Intake of HCAs increased risk of CRC (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1–4.3) when extremes of estimated HCA intake were compared |
| Sinha et al,9 1999 | Case-control study: 146 cases of colorectal adenoma were compared with 228 controls | 29% increased risk per 70 g/wk of well-done or very well-done red meat (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.08–1.54) vs 10% increased risk with rare or medium red meat (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.96–1.26) |
| Sandhu et al,10 2001 | Meta-analysis | Daily increase of 100 g of all meat or red meat was associated with a 12% to 17% increased risk of CRC; 49% increased risk with a daily increase of 25 g of processed meat |
| Norat et al,11 2002 | Meta-analysis | Total meat consumption was not associated with increased risk of CRC; RR 1.35 (95% CI 1.21–1.51) for red meat; RR 1.31 (95% CI 1.13–1.51) for processed meat |
| Navarro et al,12 2003 | Case-control study: 287 patients with colorectal adenocarcinomas were compared with 566 controls | Total meat, red meat, and other types of meat were not related to increased risk of CRC; increased risk of CRC found for those consuming large amounts of cold cuts, sausages, and bovine organ meats |
| Flood et al,14 2003 | National Cancer Institute prospective cohort study of 45 496 women | No evidence of an association between consumption of total meat, red meat, processed meat, or well-done meat and risk of CRC |
CRC—colorectal cancer, CI—confidence interval, HCA—heterocyclic amine, OR—odds ratio, RR—relative risk.