FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Pan-frying red meat may increase men's risk for prostate cancer by up to 40 percent, according to a new study.

Scientists explained that when red meat is cooked at high temperatures, cancer-causing chemicals are formed, possibly increasing disease risk.

Researchers from the University of Southern California and the Cancer Prevention Institute of California examined data on nearly 2,000 men involved in a study on prostate cancer. More than half of the men were diagnosed with advanced forms of the disease.

Participants completed detailed questionnaires about what types of meat and poultry they ate and how much. The men were asked about their cooking methods and whether they pan-fried, broiled or grilled their meats. They also were shown pictures of foods at various levels of preparation, so they could indicate how well done they typically ate their meats.

"We found that men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent," study leader Mariana Stern, associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, said in a university news release. "In addition, men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer."

Hamburgers, in particular, were linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, the study found. The risk was greatest among Hispanic men.

"We speculate that these findings are a result of different levels of carcinogen accumulation found in hamburgers, given that they can attain higher internal and external temperatures faster than steak," Stern said.

Although men who ate mostly baked poultry had a lower risk of advanced prostate cancer, those who ate pan-fried poultry had a greater risk for the disease. The researchers concluded that diets rich in pan-fried meat or poultry of any kind may increase men's risk for prostate cancer.

Although the reason pan-frying may lead to a greater risk for prostate cancer is unclear, the researchers suggested the formation of DNA-damaging carcinogens -- known as heterocyclic amines -- during the cooking process may be to blame.

These cancer-causing chemicals are formed when sugars and amino acids are cooked at higher temperatures for longer periods of time, they explained.

"The observations from this study alone are not enough to make any health recommendations, but given the few modifiable risk factors known for prostate cancer, the understanding of dietary factors and cooking methods are of high public-health relevance," Stern said.

The study appeared recently online in the journal Carcinogenesis.

Although the study found an association between pan-fried meat and prostate cancer risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has information on prostate cancer.

MONDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Men with a life expectancy of more than 10 years should talk with their doctor about getting a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer, an expert panel recommends.

The recommendation, from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), is a response to recent guidance from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which in May recommended against PSA screening for prostate cancer.

The ASCO panel recommends doctors discuss the benefits and risks of PSA testing with their symptom-less patients who have a life expectancy of more than 10 years. For men who would probably die earlier, the risks outweigh the benefits, the panel said.

"Men really need to go to their doctor and have a discussion of the risks and benefits of getting the PSA blood test," said panel co-chair Dr. Robert Nam, a uro-oncologist at the Odette Cancer Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre of the University of Toronto in Canada. "We felt from our review that doing the PSA blood test does save lives in certain groups of men. That's where we differ from the task force recommendation."

Nam's point was that men with serious medical problems such as other cancers, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will most likely die from those diseases long before they succumb to prostate cancer.

For these men, treatment and the side effects associated with treatment might be worse than any benefit, he noted.

"PSA has been a victim of its own success," Nam said. The test's inability to distinguish prostate cancer from an enlarged prostate, called benign prostate hyperplasia, has led to too many unnecessary biopsies.

That's why a PSA test should be part of a diagnosis of prostate cancer, but the diagnosis should also include other risk factors, such as family history, Nam said.

The report was published in the July 16 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The panel's conclusions were based on a study that indicated PSA screening could reduce deaths from prostate cancer by 20 percent among a group of men with more than 10 years of life expectancy, even though it did not cut deaths in other men.

The panel could not agree on when PSA screening should start, Nam noted. However, he thinks 50 is a good time for most men to get their first PSA test. For men who have an increased risk, screening should start earlier, Nam added.

Dr. Anthony D'Amico, chief of radiation oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said "this is an attempt to educate men about the pluses and minuses of the PSA test, which is good."

PSA, however, is only one factor that can help men understand if they are at risk for prostate cancer, D'Amico noted.

"The other things that need to be discussed are whether they are at high risk for having high-grade prostate cancer -- the kind that kills you," D'Amico said.

These factors include being black or Hispanic, having an abnormal rectal exam or being older and having a family history of prostate cancer, he said.

The age factor is something that is often underestimated, D'Amico added. "The risk of prostate cancer increases with age," he explained.

And, older men are more likely to die from prostate cancer -- 50 percent of prostate cancer deaths are in men over 75, D'Amico said.

When men see their doctor they should discuss whether they are at risk for prostate cancer. If they are, then a PSA test should be considered. If they are at low risk, a PSA test might not be appropriate, he said.

More information

For more on prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society  .