Despite clear indicators and evidence that red meat can be linked to some types of cancer, scientists have struggled to find the exact mechanism responsible for this link. Now, though, researchers may have finally made a massive breakthrough in the link between red meat and cancer. Further, they may have even found a way to interfere with this link.
According to the new study, which is published in Cancer Discovery, researchers finally understand why the overconsumption of red meat can lead to colorectal cancer—the third most common type of cancer. Colorectal cancer accounts for around ten percent of cancer cases around the world and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
As such, understanding the link between red meat and cancer has been a priority for many over the years. Thankfully, the researchers involved in the study were able to use fresh colorectal cancer samples and discover that the iron found in red meat reactivated an enzyme called telomerase through an iron-sensing protein known as Pirin.
This protein seemed to drive the progression of the cancer. All of this ties into telomerase and telomeres, which help spur cancer growth forward as a whole. These pieces of chromosomes are especially important because they are made from DNA sequences and proteins, and they’re required for cell division.
As the telomeres cause cell division, they become shorter and shorter until, eventually, our bodies release telomerase, which helps rebuild the telomeres and restore cell division. Cancer cells use this system to grow uncontrollably, and it’s this system that helped researchers find the link between red meat and cancer.
They found that cancer cells actually have very short telomeres. That might sound good because they can’t divide very much, right? Well, when the iron in red meat interacts with the body, it releases proteins that cause the cells to create telomerase, allowing them to divide and grow into tumors.
Thankfully, as the link between red meat and cancer became better understood, scientists were also able to determine a way to stop this link from activating by targeting Pirin specifically and preventing iron from binding with it. This could help create new cancer treatment plans.
