Linking Processed and Red Meat Consumption to Specific Lung Cancer Subtypes: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Genetics
• Oncology

Background:

• Observational studies suggest a link between red/processed meat and cancer risk.
• A definitive causal relationship between meat consumption and lung cancer remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal association between processed and red meat intake and lung cancer using Mendelian randomization.
• To differentiate the risks associated with specific types of red meat (beef, mutton, pork) and processed meats.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization analysis.
• Integrated UK Biobank data on dietary habits with lung cancer data from the Transdisciplinary Research In Cancer of the Lung (Tricl) consortium.
• Employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method with sensitivity analyses for robust results.

Main Results:

• Processed meat consumption showed a significant association with increased lung cancer risk (OR=1.82, p=0.0173) and specifically lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) (OR=2.93, p=0.0020).
• Beef consumption was strongly linked to higher risks of overall lung cancer (OR=4.67, p<0.000001), LUSC (OR=3.33, p=0.0203), and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) (OR=7.15, p<0.000001).
• No significant causal links were found between mutton or pork consumption and lung cancer risk.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest that processed meat and beef consumption may contribute to an elevated risk of developing lung cancer.
• Further investigation is recommended to clarify the potential roles of mutton and pork consumption in lung cancer etiology.