Eating large amounts of red meat may have an impact on the development of a particular kind of breast cancer, according to new research from Harvard Medical School.

The survey of dietary habits and breast cancer lasted for 12 years and suggests that those women who ate the most red meat had an increased likelihood of developing hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

By eating in excess of one and a half portions of red meat daily it appears the risk of this type of cancer almost doubles, with no significant increased risk in developing any other form of breast cancer.

A hormone-receptor positive cancer reacts to the body's naturally occurring hormones, oestrogen and progesterone.

Tumours that respond to hormones are stimulated by their natural presence in the body but can sometimes be treated through drugs that block this stimulation.

In terms of the cancer risks associated with red meat, the researchers, writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, noted that recent cancer statistics may be associated with changing diets.

"Although the incidence rates of hormone receptor-negative tumours have remained relatively constant, the incidence of hormone receptor-positive tumours has been increasing in the United States, especially among middle-aged women," they argued in the journal.

Of the 1,021 women who developed breast cancer over the study's duration, 512 had tumours that were oestrogen and progesterone receptor-positive.

"Given that most of the risk factors for breast cancer are not easily modifiable, these findings have potential public health implications in preventing breast cancer and should be evaluated further," added the report's authors.

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