Processed meat consumption can increase risk of breast cancer

You may want to lay off on sausages, bacon and burgers as a new study shows that processed meat is linked to higher risk of breast cancer.

Consumption of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a meta-analysis. Comparing the highest to the lowest category in the 15 studies included in the analysis, processed meat consumption was associated with a 9% higher breast cancer risk. Investigators did not observe a significant association between red (unprocessed) meat intake and risk of breast cancer.

Cutting down on processed meat seems beneficial for the prevention of breast cancer. (Shutterstock)

Lead author Dr Maryam Farvid of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health said, “Previous works linked increased risk of some types of cancer to higher processed meat intake, and this recent meta-analysis suggests that processed meat consumption may also increase breast cancer risk. Therefore, cutting down processed meat seems beneficial for the prevention of breast cancer.”

The study appears in the International Journal of Cancer.

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