Abstract
Many N-nitroso compounds (NOC) are carcinogens. In this controlled study of 21 healthy male volunteers, levels of NOC on a high (420 grams) red meat diet were significantly greater (P = 0.001) than on a low (60 grams) meat diet but not significantly greater when an equivalent amount of vegetable protein was fed. An 8-mg supplement of haem iron also increased fecal NOC (P = 0.006) compared with the low meat diet, but 35-mg ferrous iron had no effect. Endogenous N-nitrosation, arising from ingestion of haem but not inorganic iron or protein, may account for the increased risk associated with red meat consumption in colorectal cancer.
Footnotes
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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↵1 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Medical Research Council, Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Cambridge CB2 2XY. Phone: (44) 1223 252760; Fax: (44) 1223 252765; E-mail: sheila.bingham{at}mrc-dunn.cam.ac.uk
- Received December 2, 2002.
- Accepted March 26, 2003.
- ©2003 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 63, Issue 10
