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The association between meat and fish intake by preparation methods and breast cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS)

  • Epidemiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

We examined the associations between intake of meat and fish by preparation methods and breast cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a racially diverse population-based case–control study.

Methods

African American (AA) and European American (EA) women aged 20–74 years with a first diagnosis of invasive or in situ breast cancers were frequency matched by race and age group to controls identified through the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and Medicare lists [AA: 548 cases, 452 controls; EA: 858 cases, 748 controls]. Participants self-reported meat preparation methods and intake frequencies. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, race, alcohol intake, body mass index, family income, lactation, marital status, use of oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormone use, smoking status, and offsets.

Results

Positive associations with breast cancer were observed for intakes of grilled/barbecued hamburger (≥ once/week, OR: 1.28; 95% CI 1.01, 1.63), and pan-fried/oven-broiled beef steak (≥ once/week, OR: 1.36; 95% CI 1.08, 1.72). Inverse associations were observed for pan-fried fish (≥ once/week, OR: 0.77; 95% CI 0.60, 0.98), and for grilled/ barbecued pork chops (> 0 time/week OR: 0.81, 95% CI 0.68, 0.97). Associations tended to be stronger among EA women than among AA women.

Conclusion

More frequent consumption of beef prepared with high temperature methods was associated with higher odds of breast cancer while more frequent consumption of pan-fried fish or grilled/barbecued pork chops was associated with lower odds of breast cancer.

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Data availability

Data from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study can be requested from study investigators at the following: https://unclineberger.org/cbcs/for-researchers/data-sharing/.

Abbreviations

AA:

African American

BMI:

Body mass index

CBCS:

Carolina Breast Cancer Study

CI:

Confidence interval

CIS:

Carcinoma in situ

DAG:

Directed acyclic graph

DCIS:

Ductal carcinoma in situ

EA:

European American

ER:

Estrogen receptor

HCA:

Heterocyclic amines

HER:

Human epidermal growth factor receptor

IHC:

Immunohistochemistry

LCIS:

Lobular carcinoma in situ

NOCs:

N-Nitroso compounds

OR:

Odds ratio

PAH:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PR:

Progesterone receptor

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to CBCS participants and study staff.

Funding

This work was supported by a Susan G. Komen Graduate Training in Disparities Research Grant (GTDR17500160; SES, OOO) and a Cancer Prevention Research Fellowship from the American Society of Preventive Oncology and the Prevent Cancer Foundation (SES); This research was supported by a grant from UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is funded by the University Cancer Research Fund of North Carolina, the Susan G Komen Foundation, the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (P01CA151135), and the National Cancer Institute Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (NIH/NCI P50-CA58223). This research recruited participants and/or obtained data with the assistance of Rapid Case Ascertainment, a collaboration between the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry and UNC Lineberger. RCA is supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (P30CA016086). We are grateful to CBCS participants and study staff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Omonefe O. Omofuma & Susan E. Steck

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Andrew F. Olshan & Melissa A. Troester

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Room 456, Discovery I Building, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Susan E. Steck

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  1. Omonefe O. Omofuma
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data analysis was performed by Omonefe Omofuma. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Omonefe Omofuma and all authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Susan E. Steck.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC IRB#92-0410). The current analyses of deidentified existing data were reviewed by the University of South Carolina Institutional Review Board and declared not human subjects research (#PR00074227).

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Omofuma, O.O., Steck, S.E., Olshan, A.F. et al. The association between meat and fish intake by preparation methods and breast cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS). Breast Cancer Res Treat 193, 187–201 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-022-06555-x

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