Two rashers of bacon 'increase risk of cancer'

Eating two rashers of bacon a day can increase the threat of pancreatic cancer by 19 per cent - and the risk goes up if a person eats more, say experts.

They said the warning applies to anyone who daily consumes 50g of processed meat - the equivalent of one sausage - compared with people who eat none at all.

The extra risk jumps to 38 per cent for those eating 100g and to 57 per cent for people on 150g a day. Experts added that the lifetime danger of developing the disease is relatively low - one in 77 for men and one in 79 for women.

Nevertheless, pancreatic cancer is deadly. It is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage and kills 80 per cent of sufferers in less than a year. Only five per cent of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, is by researchers at the respected Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. They examined data from 11 separate studies involving 6,643 cases of pancreatic cancer and found inconclusive evidence on the risks of eating red meat overall compared with consuming none.

They found a 29 per cent increase in pancreatic cancer risk for men eating 120g per day of red meat but no increased risk among women. This may be because men in the study tended to eat more red meat than women.

They concluded: "Findings indicate that processed meat consumption is positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings."

Associate professor and study author Susanna Larsson said: "If diet affects pancreatic cancer this could influence public health campaigns to help reduce the number of cases developing."

About 8,090 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK in 2008 - 3 per cent of all cancer cases - and some 7,780 died from it.