Processed red meat intake linked to increased incidence of blood cancers

Processed red meat intake is associated with an increased incidence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in a Japanese population, according to a study published online March 7 in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.

Yoshimitsu Shimomura, M.D., from the Graduate School of Medicine at Osaka University in Japan, and colleagues examined the association between AML/MDS incidence and meat, fish, or fatty acid intake using data for 93,366 participants from the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study. Participants were followed for 1,345,002 person-years.

The researchers identified 67 AML and 49 MDS cases during the follow-up period. Increased intake of processed red meat was associated with an increased incidence of AML/MDS, with a hazard ratio of 1.63 for the highest versus the lowest tertile. No associations were seen for intake of other foods and fatty acids with AML/MDS.

"Our results showed that a higher processed red meat intake was associated with an increased incidence of AML/MDS," the authors write. "On the other hand, other intakes of interest had a null association with the incidence of AML/MDS."