By David Liu, PHD

Sunday Sept 30,2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Men eating too much red meat and processed meat may increase their risk of esophageal cancer, specifically esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, according to a study in Annals of Oncology.

The study led by A. P. Keszei1 at Maastricht University in Maastricht, The Netherlands and colleagues showed red meat as well as processed meat intake was positively associated with an esophageal cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinomas in men.

The researchers found the association after analysing data from 120,852 individuals aged 55 to 69 years who were recruited in 1986 for the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer.  Meat intake was surveyed using a 150-item food frequency questionnaire.

During the 16.3-year follow-up, 107 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, 145 esophageal adenocarcinomas (both types are esophageal cancer), 163 gastric cardia adenocarcinomas and 489 gastric noncardia adenocarcinomas (both types are gastric cancer) were identified.  

Men in the highest quintile of red meat and processed meat intakes were 2.66 and 3.47 times, respectively, as likely as those in the lowest quintile to develop esophageal squamous cell carcinomas.

The association was not found for esophageal adenocarcinomas or gastric cancer subtypes in men and women or for any type of esophageal cancer and gastric cancer among women.

The researchers concluded "Our findings suggest that red and processed meat consumption is associated with increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in men but not with cancers of other esophageal and gastric subtypes."

Esophageal cancer refers in many cases to both esophageal squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. An esophageal cancer in the upper two-thirds of the esophagus is a squamous cell carcinoma and one in the lower one-third is an adenocarcinoma. 

An estimated 17,460 men and women will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the United States in 2012 and 15,070 will die from the disease and its complications in the same year, according to the National Cancer Institute.