Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy

The Association of Meat Intake, Meat Cooking Methods, and Meat-Derived Mutagen Exposure with the Risk of Colorectal Polyps Including Sessile Serrated Adenomas

Colorectal polyps are the precursors of colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Red and processed meat intake have been associated with an increased risk of conventional colorectal adenomas. The mechanism for the effect of meat on hyperplastic polyp and sessile serrated adenoma risk remains unclear. One possible explanation may be the mutagenic activities of these foods. The most common meat mutagens, heterocyclic amines (HCA), form when cooking at high temperatures. Mutagenic activity is variable depending on many factors including method of cooking and cooking time in addition to temperature. This study evaluates the associations between meat intake, meat cooking methods, and meat mutagens with risks of colorectal polyps including sessile serrated adenomas.

The associations between red meat intake and the risk of hyperplastic polyps, traditional adenoma, and sessile serrated adenoma were evaluated in the large colonoscopy-based case-control study, the Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study, using logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).The study population consisted of colonoscopy patients from Vanderbilt Gastroenterology Clinic and the Veterans Affair Tennessee Valley Health System Nashville campus. Dietary information was collected through a self-administered food frequency questionnaire and a telephone interview which included information on usual meat intake frequency, amount, and cooking methods. This information was then used to estimate the total amounts of meat and HCA intake, and mutagenic activity.