The Consumption of Red and Processed Meat and The Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Case-Control Study among the Tunisian Population

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is at present the third most common malignancy in the world. With changes in lifestyle its incidence and mortality have increased during last decades. Our aim was to explore the association between red meat, processed meat and risk of colorectal cancer.
We performed a case–control study, conducted from February to March 2019 at Salah Azaiez institute. One hundred and two subjects were enrolled. Results showed that the case group included 52.9% males and 47.1% females. The control group enrolled 49%males and 51% females. The median age was 56 years old in the two groups. 63% of patients were stage I–III disease and 37% have a metastatic disease. The mean Body mass index was 24,76 Kg/m2 in CRC group was 27,39Kg/m2 in controls. CRC cases were more likely than controls to have a family history of CRC and a lower education level. There was a significant difference between cases and controls for socio-economic level and geographic origin. Ninety point two percent of cases and 76.5% of controls consume red meats, no significant association was observed between moderate red meat intake and colorectal cancer risk (p 0,063). However, a high total day meat consumption (> 100 g) was significantly associated with a high risk of CRC compared to low consumption ( <50 g) ( p=0.023) .In contrast no significant association was observed when comparing all cooking methods of meet. 51% of cases and 23,5% of controls intake processed meats. Processed meat was positively associated with CRC (p 0,004).
In conclusion our findings suggest that higher consumptions of red meat, the consumption of industrially processed meat increased the risk of CRC.