Public Health Scene

Regularly eating red meat that is burned or charred may increase your risk of pancreatic cancer by almost 60 percent, according to a study by Kristin Anderson, a University of Minnesota cancer researcher.

“Our findings in this study are further evidence that turning down the heat when grilling, frying, and barbecuing to avoid excess burning or charring of the meat may be a sensible way for some people to lower their risk for getting pancreatic cancer,” Anderson said.

Meanwhile, University of Minnesota researcher Jian-Min Yuan has found a direct link, for the first time, between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

“We’ve known for a long time that smoking increases a person’s risk for getting lung cancer, but we have not been able to clearly answer why one smoker would eventually develop lung cancer and another one would not. Now we know one definitive link,” Yuan said.

More about Anderson's study from MPR
Read the release about Anderson's study

More about Yuan's study from CNN.com
Read the release about Yuan's study