Meat Intake, Cooking Methods, Doneness Preferences and Risk of Gastric Adenocarcinoma in the MCC-Spain Study

Abstract

Background: The association of meat intake with gastric adenocarcinoma is controversial. We examined the relation between white, red, and processed meat intake and gastric adenocarcinoma, considering doneness preference and cooking methods, by histological subtype and anatomical subsite. Methods: MCC-Spain is a multicase–control study that included 286 incident gastric adenocarcinoma cases and 2993 controls who answered a food-frequency questionnaire. The association of gastric adenocarcinoma with meat intake, doneness preference and cooking methods was assessed using binary multivariate logistic regression mixed models and a possible interaction with sex was considered. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate risk by tumor subsite (cardia vs. non-cardia) and subtype (intestinal vs. diffuse). Sensitivity analyses were conducted comparing models with and without data on Helicobacter pylori infection. Results: The intake of red and processed meat increased gastric adenocarcinoma risk (OR for one serving/week increase (95% CI) = 1.11 (1.02;1.20) and 1.04 (1.00;1.08), respectively), specifically among men and for non-cardia and intestinal gastric adenocarcinoma. Those who consume well done white or red meat showed higher risk of non-cardia (white: RRR = 1.57 (1.14;2.16); red: RRR = 1.42 (1.00;2.02)) and intestinal tumors (white: RRR = 1.69 (1.10;2.59); red: RRR = 1.61 (1.02;2.53)) than those with a preference for rare/medium doneness. Stewing and griddling/barbequing red and white meat, and oven baking white meat, seemed to be the cooking methods with the greatest effect over gastric adenocarcinoma. The reported associations remained similar after considering Helicobacter pylori seropositivity. Conclusions: Reducing red and processed meat intake could decrease gastric adenocarcinoma risk, especially for intestinal and non-cardia tumors. Meat cooking practices could modify the risk of some gastric cancer subtypes.

Cancer mortality predictions for 2023 in Latin America with focus on stomach cancer

“…The prevalence of H. pylori infection has been estimated at around 50% in Argentina and Mexico, and over 70% in Brazil and Chile ( Hooi et al ., 2017 ). Established risk factors beyond H. pylori include nonmodifiable exposures, such as male sex, family history of gastric cancer, carrying some genetic variants, or even living in high-altitude countries, which is probably a surrogate for host genetic, bacterial, dietary, and environmental factors that may cluster in the mountainous regions ( Torres et al ., 2013 ; Boldo et al ., 2022 ), but also lifestyle factors such as tobacco smoking, alcohol use, high consumption of red and processed beef ( Nikitina et al ., 2023 ) meat, and high-sodium diet ( Bonequi et al ., 2013 ; Praud et al ., 2018 ; Arnold et al ., 2020 ; Deng et al ., 2021 ; Boldo et al ., 2022 ). In addition, populations in mountainous areas tend to be of lower socioeconomic status, which is a recognized determinant risk for gastric cancer ( Rota et al ., 2020 ).…”