Red meat and processed meat intake and risk for cutaneous melanoma in white women and men: Two prospective cohort studies.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Red and processed meat consumption has been associated with increased risk for several cancers, but the association with cutaneous melanoma risk has been inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between red and processed meat intake and melanoma risk. METHODS: Dietary information was assessed by using food frequency questionnaires in 2 prospective cohorts 75,263 women from the Nurses' Health Study (1984-2010) and 48,523 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010). Melanoma cases were confirmed by reviewing pathology records. Pooled multivariable hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A total of 679 female and 639 male melanoma cases were documented during follow-up. Red and processed meat intake was inversely associated with melanoma risk (P = .002 for trend); the pooled hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the 2 cohorts were 1.00 (reference), 1.00 (0.87-1.14), 0.98 (0.86-1.13), 0.89 (0.77-1.02), and 0.81 (0.70-0.95) for increasing quintiles of intake. LIMITATIONS: Findings might have limited generalizability, considering that the cohorts were limited to white health professionals. CONCLUSION: Red and processed meat intake was inversely associated with melanoma risk in these 2 cohorts.