New gene variant found that increases the risk of colorectal cancer from eating processed meat

A common genetic variant that affects one in three people appears to significantly increase the risk of colorectal cancer from the consumption of processed meat. Lead author, Jane Figueiredo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, explained that eating processed meat is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and for about a third of the general population who carry this genetic variant, the risk of eating processed meat is even higher compared to those who do not. Read more here.