A new research suggests that the way meat is
cooked could trigger kidney cancer in consumers.

Their findings, published in the journal CANCER,
revealed that cooking meat in a particular way,
especially using high temperature techniques, such
as pan-frying, grilling, and barbecuing, has the
potential to affect people’s cancer risk on a
genetic level.

The new research from scientists at the University
of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre studied
patients’ meat intake and examined their DNA.
The study shows that meat itself might not cause
cancer.

Health problems, however, arise from the way the
meat is cooked. Coming after the October 2015
declaration by the World Health Organization
(WHO) International Agency for Research on
Cancer, ranking processed meat as carcinogenic,
the new development is worrisome to non- vegetarians many of whom have raised concerns
on the issue.

For the new study however, researchers tracked
the dietary patterns from 659 patients recently
diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), also
known as kidney cancer, and then collected their
genetic information.

These patients’ data were then compared with
that of 699 healthy subjects recruited from the
same community. Researchers were able to
analyse possible genetic mutations using the
National Cancer Institute’s database.

Among the study’s participants, those with
kidney cancer had a history of consuming more red
and white meat when compared to healthy,
individuals.

Cancer risk increased as much as 54 per cent when
participants consumed certain meat mutagens —
harmful compounds created when meat is cooked
in certain ways. Moreover, when researchers
looked at the specific genes associated with RCC
risk, they found individuals with the gene “ITPR2,” were more susceptible to the effects of
certain meat mutagens.

“We found elevated RCC risk associated with both
meat intake and meat-cooking mutagens,
suggesting independent effect of meat-cooking
mutagens on RCC risk,” said the study’s lead
author, Xifeng Wu, an epidemiology professor at
the University of Texas.

cc: Lalasticala