Dietary nitrosyl-heme from processed meats and its association with colorectal cancer risk: findings from the EPIC cohort study
Rizzolo-Brime L, Lujan-Barroso L, Farran-Codina A, Bou R, Nicolas G, Huybrechts I, Lasheras C, Montes EM, Colorado-Yohar S, Gasque A, Dahm CC, Bock N, Olsen A, Tjønneland A, Katzke V, le Cornet C, Schulze MB, Saieva C, Sieri S, De Magistris MS, Tumino R, Macciotta A, Wareham N, Weiderpass E, Chatziioannou C, Vineis P, Jakszyn P
Nutrition journal · 1 citation
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Clinical events such as disease or death
- Intake measured by
- Food frequency questionnaire
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- World Health Organization
- Government
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Government
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III
- Grants
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FI20/00006); Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-COHO-0006); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/00817)
Based on 3 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2025-12-20 · Nutr J · vol. 25 · issue 1 · p. 14
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Cited
- 1 citation · more than 72% of similar papers · 0.5× the field average
- References
- 23 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY-NC-ND
- Research areas
- Potato Plant Research · Water Treatment and Disinfection · Nitric Oxide and Endothelin Effects
- Keywords
- Colorectal cancer, Clinical nutrition, EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, Cohort study, Association (psychology), Confounding, Cohort
- MeSH
- humans, colorectal neoplasms, nitrites, nitroso compounds, heme, diet, proportional hazards models, risk factors, prospective studies, meat products, adult, aged, middle aged, europe, female, male
27 authors
From ES, FR, CO, DK, DE, IT, GB
- Lucía Rizzolo-BrimeBellvitge University Hospital; Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge; Institut Català d'Oncologia
- Leila Luján‐BarrosoBellvitge University Hospital; Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge; Ajuntament de L’Hospitalet; Institut Català d'Oncologia
- Andreu Farrán-CodinaUniversitat de Barcelona
- Ricard BouInstitute of Agrifood Research and Technology
- Geneviève NicolasCentre international de recherche sur le cancer
- Inge HuybrechtsCentre international de recherche sur le cancer
Abstract
Background
Processed meat (PM) consumption is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). It has been hypothesized that nitrosyl-heme, formed by the addition of nitrites during meat processing, may enhance the carcinogenic effects of PMs. This study aims to investigate the association between nitrosyl-heme intake and CRC risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition(EPIC) study.
Methods
This prospective study included 367,463 participants(70.3% women) from seven countries from the EPIC-study. Dietary data were collected via baseline questionnaires, and nitrosyl-heme exposure was estimated using biochemical data from 52 Spanish PMs, extrapolated to country-specific items. Sex-specific multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios(HRs) and 95% confidence intervals(CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models.
Results
Over a 15-year median follow-up, 5,115 incident CRC cases were identified. Comparing the highest vs. the lowest sex-specific tertile of nitrosyl-heme intake we found no significant association with CRC risk (HRT3vsT1:1.01;95%CI:0.93-1.09). Subgroup analyses by tumor subtype and interactions with lifestyle factors also showed no associations.
Conclusions
This study offers insights into nitrosyl-heme exposure in European populations but found no link to CRC risk. Further research is needed to understand nitrosyl-heme's role in CRC.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY-NC-ND).
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