Unprocessed red meat, processed meat intake not linked to colon cancer recurrence, death
Consumption of unprocessed red or processed meat did not impact risk for colon cancer recurrence or mortality, according to a prospective cohort study of patients with stage III colon cancer published in JAMA Network Open.
“Avoidance of red and processed meat is one of the few dietary recommendations often given to colon and rectal cancer survivors. This recommendation is based on strong, consistent evidence of the association between these foods and risk [for] developing colorectal cancer,” Erin L. Van Blarigan, ScD, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the department of urology at University of California, San Francisco, told Healio. “But there was some evidence that the foods may not be associated with outcomes after diagnosis, so we investigated this question to understand if the recommendation was warranted post-diagnosis.”
Methodology
The analysis included 1,011 patients (median age at enrollment, 60 years; interquartile range [IQR], 51-69; 44% women; 89% white) with stage III colon cancer.
Van Blarigan and colleagues divided patients into four quartiles based on postdiagnosis red meat and processed meat intake, assessed through validated food frequency questionnaires completed both during and 6 months after completing chemotherapy.
Disease recurrence, occurrence of a new primary colon tumor or death of any cause, as well as risk for overall mortality, served as the primary endpoints.
Key findings
Researchers reported 305 deaths and 81 recurrences without death over median follow-up of 6.6 years (IQR, 1.9-7.5).
They observed no association of unprocessed red meat or processed meat intake after colon cancer diagnosis with risk for recurrence or mortality. Comparison of the highest vs. lowest quartiles showed HRs of:
- 0.84 (95% CI, 0.58-1.23) for cancer recurrence or death with unprocessed red meat;
- 1.05 (95% CI, 0.75-1.47) for cancer recurrence or death with processed meat;
- 0.71 (95% CI, 0.47-1.07) for all-cause mortality with unprocessed red meat; and
- 1.04 (95% CI, 0.72-1.51) for all-cause mortality with processed red meat.
Moving forward
Van Blarigan said further research into identifying and confirming associations between dietary factors and cancer survivorship is necessary. In uncovering these potential links, as well as the mechanisms underlying the associations, she said researchers can help answer the most common questions cancer survivors have regarding how they can improve their outcomes.
“Our goal is to help clinicians and survivors improve cancer survivorship,” Van Blarigan said. “Growing data do point to dietary factors that may be important after diagnosis of colon cancer, such as a low glycemic load, whole grains and cereal fiber, and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from dark meat fish.”
For more information:
Erin L. Van Blarigan, ScD, can be reached at Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94158; email: erin.vanblarigan@ucsf.edu.
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