Breast Cancer Risks of White Women Increase Due to Meat and Poultry Consumption

Eating red meat and poultry can escalate the risks of breast cancer in white women, a new study says. However, any such risks were not found among black women.

Unlike previous findings, that analyzed consumption of meat and breast cancer risks among only white women, a recent study conducted by Dr. Elisa Bandera (senior study author) and her colleagues looked at white and black women with and without breast cancer.  

Questionnaires were provided to all the participants- breast cancer patients (black-976 and white-873) and women without breast cancer (black-1,165, white-865).

Investigators found white women, especially pre-menopausal women, who consumed more unprocessed red meat (weekly consumption of 18 ounces or more) and poultry (7 ounces or more weekly) developing breast cancer than those who consumed the animal food products less.

On the other hand, researchers couldn't prove such a link among black women.

"This research supports encouraging [white] women to limit their intake of both red meat and poultry in order to reduce their risk of breast cancer, which is in line with the American Institute for Cancer Research's recommendation of limiting red meat intake to less than 500 grams per week," Health Day quoted study lead author and research teaching specialist Urmila Chandran.

"Being that this study may be one of the first to examine this association in [black] women, results from this group are not conclusive, and more investigation is needed to replicate these findings," she said.

The study, scheduled to be presented at the American Institute for Cancer Research meeting in Washington this week, couldn't provide the reasons that led to this occurrence.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among U.S. women. According to a latest estimate from the American Cancer Society, nearly 226,870 women are affected with invasive breast cancer and nearly 39,510 women die from breast cancer this year across the country.