In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, elements present in red meat were shown to possibly be associated with the development of prostate cancer.

The research, conducted by scientists of the National Cancer Institute, the government's principal agency for cancer research, involved a cohort of more than 175,000 U.S. men between 50 and 71 years of age.

In a nine-year follow-up process, they tracked the men's consumption of meat and their method of cooking meat, their intake of heme iron and nitrite/nitrate, the presence of benzo[a]pyrene — a byproduct of combustion of organic material, such as meat or poultry on a grill — and the incidence of prostate cancer.

Comparing the subjects who ate the most meat with those who ate the least, the scientists identified "elevated risks associated with red and processed meat" in all cases of prostate cancer and also in cases in which the cancer was advanced. The researchers did not find any "clear associations" between meat consumption and cases of fatal prostate cancer.

The study concluded that red and processed meat may be positively associated with prostate cancer via mechanisms involving heme iron, nitrite/nitrate, grilling or barbecuing the protein, and benzo[a]pyrene.

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