This article is part of the supplement: Second Annual International African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium Conference
Proceedings
Association of self-reported consumption of cooked meat, fish, seafood and eggs with prostate cancer risk among Nigerians
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* Corresponding author: Flora A Ukoli fukoli@mmc.edu
1 Department of Surgery, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA
2 Department of Surgery, University of Benin, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria
Infectious Agents and Cancer 2009, 4(Suppl 1):S6 doi:10.1186/1750-9378-4-S1-S6
Published: 10 February 2009First paragraph (this article has no abstract)
The observation that the prevalence of latent PCa at autopsy is similar for African-American and African populations [1], and that Asian populations record latent PCa rates comparable to those of U.S. whites [2], despite large geographical differences in PCa incidence world wide, supports the suggestion that environmental cancer 'promoting' factors play a more important role than cancer 'initiating' factors in the etiology of clinically significant PCa [3,4]. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that dietary animal fat and high energy intake are associated with increased PCa risk, while dietary marine fat is negatively associated with this risk [5]. Higher meat intake is consistently reported to be associated with increased PCa, possibly due to heterocyclic amines such as 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine [PhIP], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo [a]pyrene [BaP], and alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase, produced in the process of grilling or frying red meat [6]. High consumption of cooked processed meats has also been reported to contribute to the high burden of PCa risk among African-Americans [7]. In China, a low-incidence region for PCa, the consumption of salted fish and preserved meats has been reported to be associated with a significant increase in PCa risk [8]. Current evidence from cohort studies supporting the association between high fish intake with reduced PCa risk is however less convincing for countries with low or high fish consumption [9,10]. Meat, fish, cheese and egg intake were not associated with PCa risk in a Netherland cohort study [11]. Like other Sub-Saharan designated low-incidence regions for PCa, Nigeria has reported an moderate upward incidence trend, with PCa becoming the most diagnosed male cancer [12,13]. This trend is postulated to result from improved diagnosis, increased longevity, and the progressive replacement of their traditional low-fat diet with a more westernized diet high in meat and processed foods. This study examined the association of self-reported consumption of cooked meat, fish, sea food, and eggs with PCa risk among Nigerians in a case-control design.