Red Meat Increases Colon Cancer Mortality Risk

A new study of colon cancer patients finds that the people who reported eating the most red meat prior to being diagnosed were more likely to die in the following eight years. Researchers were unable to prove that eating red meat caused colon cancer deaths, but established that the amount of meat a person ate before and after their diagnosis was tied with their risk of dying during the study. The study, recently published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, compared data from over 2000 patients diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer between 1992 and 2010. Overall, 966 of the patients died between the start of the study and December 31, 2010. Of the 966, approximately 43 percent reported eating 10 or more servings of red or processed meat per week at the start of the study and died during the follow up period. The study also concluded that the people who consistently ate more red or processed meat before and after their colon cancer diagnosis were more likely to die from the colon cancer. An editorial accompanying the study recommended that the public limit servings of red meat to three or four times a week.