Meat and fish consumption and the risk of renal cell carcinoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition

Abstract

Renal cell cancer (RCC) incidence varies worldwide with a higher incidence in developed countries and lifestyle is likely to contribute to the development of this disease. We examined whether meat and fish consumption were related to the risk of RCC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The analysis included 493,179 EPIC participants, recruited between 1992 and 2000. Until December 2008, 691 RCC cases have been identified. Meat and fish consumption was assessed at baseline using country-specific dietary assessment instruments; 24-hour recalls were applied in an 8% subsample for calibration purposes. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Women with a high consumption of red meat (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.14-1.62; calibrated, per 50 g/day) and processed meat (HR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.05-3.03; calibrated, per 50 g/day) had a higher risk of RCC, while no association existed in men. For processed meat, the association with RCC incidence was prominent in premenopausal women and was lacking in postmenopausal women (p interaction = 0.02). Neither poultry nor fish consumption were statistically significantly associated with the risk of RCC. The results show a distinct association of red and processed meat consumption with incident RCC in women but not in men. A biological explanation for these findings remains unclear

Intake of red and processed meat and risk of renal cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis of observational studies

“…We also included two studies with overlapping reports [ 19 , 35 ]: one on overall processed meat intake [ 35 ] and the other on red meat intake [ 19 ]. One pooled study included 13 independent cohorts [ 15 ]; another four cohort studies included four different cohorts (the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study [EPIC] [ 32 ]; the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study [ 34 ], the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk [JACC] Study [ 18 ], and California Seventh-day Adventists [ 28 ]). An eventual total 23 publications were included in this meta-analysis (Figure 1 ).…”

Ingested Nitrate, Disinfection By-products, and Kidney Cancer Risk in Older Women

“…A European cohort reported a processed meat-renal cell carcinoma association in pre-menopausal, but not in post-menopausal, women. 45 Both animal and human studies suggest such meat-related associations may be driven by nitrate and/or nitrite. Simultaneous intake of sodium nitrite and fish meal (an amine source) induces renal epithelial tumors in rats.…”

Impact of marital status on renal cancer patient survival

“…While most renal cancers are localized, low-grade tumors, nearly 17% of patients had distant metastases at the time of diagnosis [ 2 ]. Several factors, such as smoking tobacco [ 3 ], hypertension [ 4 ], obesity [ 5 , 6 ], and red meat consumption [ 7 ], are associated with renal cancer progression. However, little is known about the roles of socioeconomic status and psychological supports, such as marital status, in renal cancer prognosis.…”