Staff of the Inna Foundation constantly warn their readers about the presence of factors that influence the risk of developing cancer in humans. Scientists have studied in detail, for example, how carcinogens in tobacco products can trigger cancer during smoking. Or how human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause certain types of cancer. It is also well known how ultraviolet light causes skin cancer.
One of the medical recommendations for cancer prevention is to limit the consumption of red meat. However, previous studies linking the development of cancer and meat consumption were mostly epidemiological. That is, people who developed this disease were interviewed about their dietary habits, and researchers found links with the incidence of bowel cancer. But scientists did not have a clear understanding of the development of cancer with regular consumption of red meat. But now this gap has been filled – the mechanism of provoking cancer has been established!
Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (USA) have determined the mechanism of the effect of red meat consumption on the risk of bowel cancer. The report was published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
Scientists have sequenced DNA data from 900 patients with colorectal cancer. The analysis revealed a distinct mutation signature – a pattern that had never been identified before, but it reports a type of DNA damage. This damage is known as “alkylation”. And red meat contains chemicals that can cause alkylation.These are compounds that can be obtained from the heme found in red meat, as well as nitrates, which are often found in processed meat.
Of course, not all cells containing such mutations will necessarily become cancerous, signature was also present in some samples of healthy colon. However, the signature of the mutation was largely associated with the consumption of red meat, both processed and unprocessed, before the patient was diagnosed with cancer. Interestingly, the mutation is not related to the consumption of poultry, fish or other foods.
The Medicalxpress, analyzing the report of the researchers, reports that further investigation of this issue can help doctors determine which patients are genetically predisposed to accumulation damage from alkylation, and then advise them to limit their consumption of red meat. By the way, high levels of tumor damage by alkylation were observed in patients who ate on average more than 150 grams of meat per day.
Thus, now we can confidently say that excessive consumption of red meat (pork, beef, lamb, etc.) can actually trigger the development of bowel cancer.
