Processed meat consumption and risk of cancer: a multisite case–control study in Uruguay

Uruguay is a developing country characterised by high incidence rates of cancer (ASR 386.0 cases per 100 000 males and 303.2 cases per 100 000 females; Parkin et al, 2002). The leading cancer site among men is the lung, whereas the main cancer site among women is the breast, following the pattern of the developed countries. The main reasons for these elevated rates are related to the prevalence of tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, the high consumption of red meat, and the low consumption of vegetables and fruits. In fact, the Uruguayan population is characterised by a very high consumption of red meat (the highest in the world (Matos and Brandani, 2002)), a high consumption of processed meat, and a low intake of white meat. Several reports have suggested that processed meat is linked to the aetiology of frequent malignancies like gastric cancer and colon cancer (Larsson et al, 2006; Cross et al, 2007). In fact, the consumption of processed meat is much higher in Uruguay compared with consumption in the United States (Cross et al, 2007). For this reason, we decided to conduct a multisite case–control study in order to explore the role of processed meat in 11 cancer sites in Uruguay.