Well-done meat cooked at high temperatures contains the carcinogens polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs).
They examined the association between breast cancer and lifetime intake of grilled, barbecued and smoked meat as well as recent intake of cooked meat, PAHs, and HCAs for 1,508 cases and 1,556 controls in the Long Island Breast Cancer Project, a population-based, case-control study. Average lifetime intake of grilled, barbequed, and smoked meats was determined from intake reported by decade of life obtained as part of the in-person interview.
A self-administered block FFQ, modified to collect detailed meat preparation information, was used to derive measures of cooked meat, PAH, and HCA intake for the year before the interview. Using unconditional logistic regression with adjustment for age; intake of energy, fruits, and vegetables; and multivitamin supplement use, they observed increased breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women with high lifetime consumption of grilled, barbequed, and smoked meats for women in the highest versus lowest tertile of lifetime meat intake.
No substantial associations were observed for any meat, PAH, or HCFA intake measures in the year before the interview except for PAH intake from meat among postmenopausal women with tumors positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors.
This large population-based case-control study lends modest support to the mounting evidence that consumption, particularly throughout the lifetime, of meats cooked by methods that promote carcinogen formation may be important in the etiology of post-menopausal breast cancer.