Pan-Fried Meat Boosts Prostate Cancer Risk 40 Percent

How much do you like pan-fried meat? How much do you like life without prostate cancer? Now the dilemma: researchers at the Keck School of Medicine at USC are convinced that cooking red meats at high temperatures, especially pan-fried red meats, may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer by as much as 40 percent. A Keck School news release reports that researchers examined data from nearly 2,000 men in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study, and evaluated the amount and type of meat intake, including poultry and processed red meat.  Information regarding cooking practices (pan-frying, oven-broiling and grilling) was obtained using color photographs that displayed the level of doneness.

“We found that men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent,” said Mariana Stern, an associate professor of preventive medicine and the study leader. “Men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer.”

The good news, if there is any, is that steak was not linked to an increased risk of cancer. Hamburger, on the other hand, was. Read more from the Keck School of Medicine at USC.