A study by the National Institutes of Health and the American Association of Retired Persons concluded there is no link between a high intake of meat and increased risk of breast cancer.

The study led by Geoffrey C. Kabat at the Albert Einstein College in New York and reported in the International Journal of Cancer, followed 120,755 post-menopausal women who responded to questions about their food selections and methods of cooking. Although 3,818 cases of invasive breast cancer were ultimately identified among the women in the study, there was no evidence of a connection to red meat consumption, the researchers said.

The researchers concluded "results of this large prospective cohort of post-menopausal women do not support the hypothesis that a high intake of meat, red meat, processed meat, meat cooked at high temperatures, or meat mutagens is associated with increased risk of breast cancer."