New study links red meat and distal colon cancer in women

A new study published in the International Journal of Cancer from the UK’s University of Leeds found that women who regularly eat red meat are at higher risk of distal colon cancer (cancer on the descending part of the colon, where faeces is stored). 

The study used data from the UK’s Women’s Cohort Study.  32,147 women from across the UK were recruited and surveyed for an average of 17 years by the World Cancer Research Fund.

Janet Cade, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds said, “Our study not only helps shed light on how meat consumption may affect the sections of the colorectum differently, it emphasises the importance of reliable dietary reporting from large groups of people.”

NOTE:  The International Journal of Cancer is a peer reviewed medical journal covering experimental and clinical cancer research.