Monday Dec 8, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Consumption of fat, protein and meat poses no risk for renal cell cancer, a new study published in the Dec 3 2008 issue of Journal of National Cancer Institute suggests.

The study led by Lee JE and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School showed that the association between the consumption of fat and animal protein was not found when other factors were adjusted.

Several case-control studies have suggested that high consumption of mean (all meat, red meat or processed meat) is associated with an elevated risk of renal cell cancer.

The current study examined the association based on data from 13 prospective studies of 530,469 women and 244,483 men for 7 to 20 years.

At the entry of the studies, all participants were surveyed by a validated food frequent questionnaire.   A total of 1478 incident cases of renal cell cancer were recorded in the studies.

The researchers discovered statistically significant positive associations or trends in pooled age-adjusted models for intakes of total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, cholesterol, total protein, and animal protein.

For example, those in the quintile of the highest consumption of total fat and total protein were 30 percent and 17 percent more likely respectively to be diagnosed with renal cell cancer than those in the quintile with the lowest consumption.

However, these associations became statistically insignificant after adjusting for other factors including body mass index, fruit and vegetable intake, and alcohol intake.

For instance, after adjusting for other factors, the risk of renal cell cancer was increased in those who consumed the highest amounts of total fat and total protein by 10 percent and 6 percent respectively, which the authors said were statistically insignificant.

Specifically Lee et al. said that intakes of red meat, processed meat, poultry or seafood were not correlated with the risk of renal cell cancer.

They concluded that "Intakes of fat and protein or their subtypes, red meat, processed meat, poultry, and seafood are not associated with risk of renal cell cancer."

Renal cell cancer or renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, forms in the lining of very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products.

Another type of kidney cancer is called renal pelvis carcinoma that forms in the center of the kidney where urine collects.

Kidney cancer also includes Wilms tumor - a type of kidney cancer that usually develops in children under the age of 5.

Together, kidney cancer is expected to be diagnosed in 54,390 men and women in the United States and will kill 13,010 this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.