Abstract C035: Red meat consumption and pancreatic cancer risk in two prospective studies of racially diverse populations
Authors: Setiawan Veronica Wendy , Wang Songren , Stram Daniel , Wu Lang , Le Marchand Loic , Shu Xiao-ou , Monroe Kristine 
Published: September 2020

Backgrounds: There are striking racial/ethnic differences in pancreatic cancer incidence in the United States. Studies have reported positive associations between intake of red meat and pancreatic cancer risk; however, less evidence exists for ethnic/racial minorities, including African Americans who have elevated risks of this fatal cancer. In this study, we assessed the association between red meat consumption and pancreatic cancer incidence in two large cohort studies: the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC) and the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS). Methods: Demographics, dietary data and other risk factors were assessed at cohort enrollment. Total red meat intake was assessed using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire and categorized using cohort-specific quartiles. Incident cases of pancreatic cancer were identified via linkage to state cancer registries and the National Death Index. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of red meat intake with pancreatic cancer risk in each cohort. Cox models were stratified by race/ethnicity and adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, pack-years of smoking, history of diabetes mellitus, familial pancreatic cancer, and energy intake. Results: A total of 184,542 (MEC) and 66,793 (SCCS) at risk participants were included in this analysis. The median intake of red meat varied across racial/ethnic groups in both cohorts. In MEC, red meat intake was highest in Native Hawaiians and lowest in whites. In SCCS, red meat intake was higher in whites compared to African Americans. Overall, red meat intake in the SCCS was about twice the intake in the MEC. During follow up (average 17.5 years in MEC and 10.6 years in SCCS), we identified 1,618 MEC (297 African Americans, 564 Japanese Americans, 294 Latinos, 139 Native Hawaiians, 324 whites) and 266 SCCS (195 African Americans, 71 whites) incident pancreatic cancer cases. In all ethnic groups combined, consumption of red meat was associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk in the MEC (HR Q4 vs. Q1 = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.02-1.37, P trend=0.08) and the SCCS (HR Q4 vs. Q1 = 1.30; 95% CI: 0.91-1.84, P trend = 0.08). In both cohorts, similar associations were observed in men and women (P heterogeneity ≥0.76). While the association with red meat did not differ significantly across five ethnic groups in the MEC (P heterogeneity=0.42), the association was statistically significant only in African Americans (HR=1.49; 95% CI: 1.05-2.10, P trend=0.011) and Latinos (HR=1.44; 95% CI: 1.02-2.04 P trend=0.07), but not in Japanese Americans, Native Hawaiians or whites. Similarly, in the SCCS the association with red meat was only observed in African Americans (HR=1.54; 95% CI: 1.02-2.31; P trend=0.019), and not in whites. Conclusion: Our results show that red meat intake was positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk in these two cohort studies, with the strongest association observed in African Americans and Latinos.

Citation Format: Veronica Wendy Setiawan, Songren Wang, Daniel Stram, Lang Wu, Loic Le Marchand, Xiao-ou Shu, Kristine Monroe. Red meat consumption and pancreatic cancer risk in two prospective studies of racially diverse populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr C035.