Red Meat Doubles Womens' Risk of Lymphoma 

Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute   20oct99 (below)

Women who eat red meat frequently have a higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, says a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health. The cancer of the lymph glands is on the upswing among older people.

Shumin Zhang and her colleagues tracked more than 88,000 women who enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study in 1980. After 14 years, they found that women who reported eating red meat (beef, pork, or lamb) as a main dish at least once a day had a risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma roughly twice that of women who ate red meat less than once a week.

Women who ate the most trans fat also had double the risk of lymphoma. Among the largest sources of trans were margarine, red meat, cookies, cakes, and pies.

“The risk of lymphoma is probably related to saturated fat or trans fat or to some unknown factor in red meat,” says Zhang. Trans seems to have an independent effect, she adds.

While we need more research, says Zhang, the results are consistent with another large study, which found a higher risk of the disease in women who consumed more hamburger.

Dietary Fat and Protein in Relation to Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Among Women

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 91, No. 20, 1751-1758, October 20, 1999

Shumin Zhang, David J. Hunter, Bernard A. Rosner, Graham A. Colditz, Charlie S. Fuchs, Frank E. Speizer, Walter C. Willett

Affiliations of authors: S. Zhang, Department of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA; D. J. Hunter, G. A. Colditz, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health, and Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; B. A. Rosner, Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health; C. S. Fuchs, Division of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital; F. E. Speizer, Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health; W. C. Willett, Department of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, and Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Correspondence to: Shumin Zhang, M.D., Sc.D., Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: Shumin.Zhang@channing.harvard.edu).

BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma occurs more frequently in individuals with suppressed immune status, and some types of dietary fat and protein have been associated with decreased immune responses. In this study, we examined the intake of specific types of dietary fat and protein in relation to the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

METHODS: We documented 199 incident cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a cohort of 88 410 women, who were enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study and were aged 34-60 years in 1980, during 14 years of follow-up. Relative risks of the disease and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. All P values are two-sided and were considered to be statistically significant for P<.05.

RESULTS: Intake of saturated fat was associated with an increase in risk that was not statistically significant; the multivariate relative risk for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of intake was 1.4 (95% CI = 0.7-3.0; P for trend = .42). Intake of beef, pork, or lamb as a main dish was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; the multivariate relative risk for consumption of these meats at least once per day as compared with less than once per week was 2.2 (95% CI = 1.1-4.4; P for trend = .002). Higher intake of trans unsaturated fat was also statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of the disease; the multivariate relative risk for the highest versus the lowest quintiles was 2.4 (95% CI = 1.3-4.6; P for trend = .01). Higher intake of red meat cooked by broiling or barbecuing—but not by roasting, pan-frying, or boiling or stewing—was associated with an increase in risk that was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Greater dietary intake of certain meats and fats was associated with a higher risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These relationships and their potential mechanisms deserve further examination.