This research adds more to our growing understanding of how dietary habits may influence breast cancer risk. It also shows how environmental factors, such as diet, and genetics can combine to affect breast cancer risk.
The researchers found that women who ate grilled or charbroiled meats more than twice per month were 74% more likely to develop breast cancer than women who didn't eat grilled meat. This difference was significant, meaning that it was likely due to eating the grilled meat, rather than chance.
Also, women who rapidly metabolized the NAT2 enzyme (an enzyme that activates HCAs, the chemical produced in grilled meat linked to cancer) and ate more grilled meat were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who slowly metabolized the NAT2 enzyme and didn't eat grilled meat. The NAT2 metabolism rate is determined by your genes. Aspirin seemed to protect against this increased risk.
So should you throw away your grill and take aspirin to all barbecue events? Probably not. But if you have a choice, meat that is baked or broiled in the oven is probably a better choice. Many times, grilled meats are loaded with high-calorie, high-fat sauces. More research needs to be done on diet and breast cancer, but findings so far suggest that physical activity, a healthy diet (particularly one low in fat and high in vegetables and fiber), and a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of breast cancer or the cancer coming back.
Visit our Nutrition section to learn more about diet and breast cancer. Visit our Lower Your Risk section to learn more about what you can do to reduce your risk of ever getting breast cancer.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - You might want to cook the holiday turkey in the oven instead of on the grill, according to results of a study released this week that found that women who favor flame-broiled foods may be at much higher risk for developing breast cancer than women who do not.
Can't give up that flame-broiled taste? Then it might be wise to take an aspirin with your char-broiled meal, as the findings also suggest that aspirin may negate the potentially harmful effects of flame-broiled foods.
"Cooking meat at high temperatures in direct heat over an open flame can lead to the production of cancer-causing chemicals known as heterocyclic amines, or HCAs," Dr. Kala Visvanathan from Johns Hopkins University, explained at a cancer prevention conference sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research.
By studying the eating patterns of 312 women with breast cancer and 316 women who were cancer free, Visvanathan's team found that breast cancer was increased a significant 74 percent in women who ate flame-broiled foods more than twice per month compared with women who never ate flame-broiled foods.
"We saw similar results for increased meat consumption" in general, Visvanathan said. Women who ate more than 64 grams per day compared with those who ate less than or equal to 64 grams per day had a 43-percent higher risk of breast cancer.
However, a woman's ability to activate cancer-causing HCAs modified the risk of developing breast cancer. The NAT2 enzyme, short for N-acetyltransferase, activates HCAs, Visvanathan explained. Slow NAT2 metabolizers tend to produce less active HCAs than fast NAT2 metabolizers.
Visvanathan reported that women who were "rapid metabolizers" of NAT2 who ate more flame-broiled food and consumed more meat daily were much more likely to develop breast cancer than slow metabolizers who never ate flame-broiled food and meat.
Interestingly, in rapid NAT2 metabolizers who consumed flame-broiled food or a lot of meat, aspirin completely attenuated the increased risk of breast cancer, the researcher said.
"When we think of the biological mechanism," Visvanathan noted, "there is some experimental data to explain this, but we still need to explore this further." Some laboratory studies have suggested that aspirin may inhibit NAT2 activity. Overall, the relationship among aspirin, flame-broiled food consumption and NAT2 activity is "intriguing," Visvanathan said.
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