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Bad news Gentlemen:

although men and meat are as synonymous as peanut butter and jelly, a new study published online in the Journal Carcinogenesis has confirmed that cooking red-meats at high-temperatures, particularly pan-fried red meats, such as hamburgers, may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer by as much as 40 percent.

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) and the Cancer prevention institute of California (CPIC) examined aggregated data from nearly 2,000 men, more than half of whom were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, and all of whom participated in the "California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study, a multiethnic, case-control study conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area by Esther John, CPIC senior research scientist, and in Los Angeles by Sue A. Ingles, associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC," according to a report released by USC.

After completing a broad questionnaire about their eating habits, including the types and amounts of meats consumed and information regarding cooking practices such as how the meats were cooked and to what extent (rare, medium, well, etc.), researchers noticed something disturbing. 

Mariana Stern, associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC explains the results in a statement to the press.

"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," Stern said. "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," says Stern.

Oddly enough, it's not just red-meat that is potentially harmful.  Stern noted that pan-frying, regardless of meat type, consistently led to an increased risk of prostate cancer. In a previous study stern noted that fish and poultry, when pan-fried at high temperatures, can also pose a risk.  

Though researchers do not know exactly why pan-frying poses a higher risk for prostate cancer, they suspect it is due to the formation of the DNA-damaging carcinogens -- heterocyclic amines (HCAs) - when  cooking red meat, poultry and fish for in high-temperatures for long periods of time.

Though the study alone is not enough to make any serious health recommendations, the study notes that boiling, broiling, steaming and even frying do not have the effects that pan-frying can have. Scientists can only recommend for lovers of red meat to change up their cooking methods  bit.