How red meat consumption is linked to colorectal cancer shown for first time in study of patterns of DNA damage
- Scientists quash doubts about the link between eating red meat and colorectal cancer by identifying the biological pathway through which the disease occurs
- The discovery of specific patterns of DNA damage triggered by a diet rich in red meat could be used to help patients in future, the lead researcher says
Eating less red meat is standard medical advice for preventing colorectal cancer, but the way it causes cells to mutate has remained unclear, and not all experts were convinced there was a strong link.
Prior research establishing the connection was mainly epidemiologic, meaning that people who developed the condition were surveyed on their eating habits, and researchers spotted associations with colorectal cancer incidence.
But a lack of clarity around the biology meant that the case wasn’t quite slam dunk, and in 2019, one team of researchers made waves when they declared they only had a “low” degree of certainty that reducing consumption would prevent cancer deaths.
“When we say red meat is carcinogenic, and that it impacts incidence of cancer, there has to be some plausible way by which it does it,” said Dana-Farber Cancer Institute oncologist Marios Giannakis, who led the new study.