Meat, eggs and dairy not a risk factor for breast cancer according to EPIC

Meat, eggs and dairy products were not associated with breast cancer risk in a recent analysis of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort [1].

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analysed information on diet collected between 1992 and 2003 in 319,826 women who participated in the EPIC study. Of these women, 7,119 developed invasive breast cancer after a median follow-up of 8.8 years. EPIC is a large ongoing prospective cohort study conducted in 23 centres in nine European cities.

Diet was assessed using food questionnaires, some of which were country specific. Anthropometric measurements were also taken.

The authors found no consistent association between the consumption of meat, eggs or dairy products and the risk of breast cancer. These results confirm the findings of WCRF/AICR’s Second Expert Report [2].

However, high intake of processed meat was significantly associated with breast cancer in postmenopausal women, and butter consumption was associated with premenopausal breast cancer risk.

Although meat consumption overall was not associated with breast cancer risk, there was a strong difference between countries. High red meat consumption was associated with breast cancer in those countries where red meat was more frequently cooked at a high temperature. Cooking meat at high temperatures could produce carcinogenic substances such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

These results need to be taken with caution, since questionnaires used to assess diet can be prone to errors and may not accurately reflect dietary habits over time. The WCRF global network has made it a priority to fund more studies into the use of biomarkers to assess food intake more accurately in epidemiological studies.

1. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009;90:602-12

2. WCRF/AICR. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC: AICR, 2007