Meat subtypes and colorectal cancer risk: A pooled analysis of 6 cohort studies in Japan

摘要

Red meat and processed meat have been suggested to increase risk of colorectal cancer ( ), especially colon cancer. However, it remains unclear whether these associations differ according to meat subtypes or colon subsites. The present study addressed this issue by undertaking a pooled analysis of large population‐based cohort studies in Japan: 5 studies comprising 232 403 participants (5694 cases) for analysis based on frequency of meat intake, and 2 studies comprising 123 635 participants (3550 cases) for analysis based on intake quantity. Study‐specific hazard ratios ( s) and 95% confidence intervals ( s) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model and then pooled using the random effect model. Comparing the highest vs lowest quartile, beef intake was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in women (pooled 1.20; 95% , 1.01‐1.44) and distal colon cancer ( ) risk in men (pooled 1.30; 95% , 1.05‐1.61). Frequent intake of pork was associated with an increased risk of distal colon cancer in women (pooled 1.44; 95% , 1.10‐1.87) for “3 times/wk or more” vs “less than 1 time/wk”. Frequent intake of processed red meat was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in women (pooled 1.39; 95% , 0.97‐2.00; trend = .04) for “almost every day” vs “less than 1 time/wk”. No association was observed for chicken consumption. The present findings support that intake of beef, pork (women only), and processed red meat (women only) might be associated with a higher risk of colon (distal colon) cancer in Japanese.