Women have two new items to be wary of when it comes breast cancer: moles and red meat. Three studies released in the past couple of days have identified links between skin moles and red meat to breast cancer in women.
Two studies conducted by teams at INSERM in Paris and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found a correlation between the number of moles on a woman’s arm and cancer risk. The INSERM study, women with “very many moles” were 13 percent more likely to develop cancer than women with no moles. In the the Brigham study, data collected between 1986 and 2010 indicated that female participants with with 15 or more moles on their left arm had an 11.4 percent chance of breast cancer among women while women with zero moles had an 8.5 percent chance of developing the condition.
All of the women in these two studies were white. However, a key revelation from both studies is that the moles don’t cause cancer. Rather, there is likely a genetic or homornal link between the moles and the risk of developing cancer. 
On the other side, there are new findings that dietary choices can impact cancer risk. Women who eat hamburgers, steaks and other red meat may have a higher risk of breast cancer, according to a recent study by Harvard University researchers. Doctors have long warned against consuming a great amount of red meat, as it has previously been linked to cancers of the colon and pancreas, but now there is more evidence to support the theory that it is linked to breast cancer, as well. 
In the new study, Harvard researchers analyzed data from over 88,000 women aged 26 to 45 who had been surveyed in 1991. The ladies’ red meat intake varied from never or less than once a month, to six or more servings a day. When the first study was published in 2006, it showed a preliminary link between breast cancer and eating red meat after 12 years. The new research confirmed the findings of the original study and included more follow-up information.
After analyzing 20 years of follow-up research, scientists say that among the women who ate the most red meat, there were an extra 6.8 cases of breast cancer for every 1,000 women. In developed countries, women already have about a 12.5 percent chance of developing breast cancer.
Scientists believe that the proteins in red meat increase cell division and tumor growth. Certain chemicals in red meat, such as nitrates, are already classified as likely carcinogens.
Mia Gaudet, director of genetic epidemiology at the American Cancer Society, said that women’s diets in their 20′s may be especially significant. “Breasts are still developing and are more susceptible to carcinogens before women have their first full-term pregnancy,” she said.