Consumption of red and processed meat and human colorectal cancer. Is there a link?
- K. J. M. Van Hoof
- L Y. Hemeryck
- L. Vanhaecke
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a disease that affects more than one million people every year. In particular in economically transitioning countries with progressing industrialization and urbanization, an increase in incidence has been observed, as such underlining the importance of environmental factors in the pathogeneses of CRC. One of these factors is the consumption of fresh and processed red meat. Although decennia ago, a link was discovered between the consumption of red and processed meat and the development of CRC, there is still controversy surrounding this topic. The results of epidemiologic studies are often inconsistent and recommendations made about the negative impact of meat consumption may have big consequences for the meat industry. An important step to make scientifically based recommendations about het consumption of red and processed meat, is the identification of the underlying mechanisms that may explain the harmful effects of meat. Several different hypotheses have been put forward and examined recently.
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