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The association between red, processed and white meat consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

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Abstract

Purpose

The association between meat consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer has not been comprehensively investigated by different types of meat. The current study was conducted to evaluate this association.

Methods

PubMed and Web of Science databases were used to search for prospective cohort studies on meat consumption and pancreatic cancer risk through May 2022. A meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models to combine study-specific relative risks (RR). The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale.

Results

Twenty prospective cohort studies including 3,934,909 participants and 11,315 pancreatic cancer cases were identified. The pooled RR of pancreatic cancer for the highest versus lowest white meat intake category was 1.14 (95% CI: 1.03–1.27). There was no significant association between consumption of red meat and processed meat and pancreatic cancer risk in the highest versus lowest analysis. In dose–response analyses, pooled RRs were 1.14 (95% CI: 1.01–1.28) for an increase in red meat consumption of 120 g per day and 1.26 (95% CI: 1.08–1.47) for an increase in white meat consumption of 100 g per day, respectively. Processed meat consumption showed neither a linear nor a non-linear association with pancreatic cancer risk.

Conclusion

Findings from this meta-analysis suggested that high consumption of red meat and white meat is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Future prospective studies are warranted to confirm the association between meat consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer.

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Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutrition/Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinjudairo 501, Jinju, 52828, South Korea

    Youngyo Kim

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YK: developed study concept and design and contributed to critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; YK: wrote the manuscript; YK: researched data, conducted the statistical analysis; YK: contributed to discussion and reviewed/edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Youngyo Kim.

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Kim, Y. The association between red, processed and white meat consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Cancer Causes Control 34, 569–581 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01698-8

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