Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
The association between meat intake and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk is still unclear. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.
Does a higher dietary intake of meat increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Study design:
This review article included 17 observational studies involving 2,915,680 participants, of which 4,953 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma.
10 studies reported red meat intake, 9 reported white meat intake, 9 reported fish intake, 7 reported processed meat intake and 5 reported total meat intake.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found results showed that the consumption of red meat [relative risk = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.91 to 1.18, I2 = 50.50%, p = 0.033] and total meat intake [relative risk = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.90 to 1.13, I2 = 15.50%, p = 0.316] were not significantly associated with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.
The investigators found, however, a higher dietary intake of processed meat significantly increased the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with 20% [relative risk = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.41, I2 = 26.30%, p = 0.228].
Significant because relative risk of 1 was not found in the 95% CI of 1.02 to 1.41. Relative risk of 1 means no risk/association.
The investigators found, in contrast, a higher dietary intake of white meat significantly decreased the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with 24% [relative risk = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.63 to 0.92, I2 = 68.30%, p = 0.001].
The investigators found, in contrast, a higher dietary intake of fish significantly decreased the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with 9% [relative risk = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86 to 0.96, I2 = 40.90%, p = 0.095].
The investigators concluded that a higher dietary intake of processed meat increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, while a higher dietary intake of both white meat and fish decrease the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, these findings suggest that dietary intervention may be an effective approach to preventing hepatocellular carcinoma. These need to be verified with further well-designed observational studies and experimental clinical research.
Original title:
Meat Intake and the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies by Yu J, Liu Z, […], Chen W.
Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35583453/
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on cancer and meat consumption right here.
Processed meats are meats that have been preserved by smoking or salting, curing or adding chemical preservatives. They include deli meats, bacon and hot dogs.