Red Meat Lovers May Have Higher Bladder Cancer Risk

A 12-year study of 1,762 individuals found that the risk of bladder cancer is about 1.5 times higher among people who eat the most red meat compared with those who eat the least, especially when the food is cooked at high temperatures or eaten well done.

Meat cooked at high temperatures generates heterocyclic amines, which can cause cancer, said investigator Jie Lin, PhD, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She presented study findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington D.C.

In addition, the risk appears to increase in people with certain genetic variants. Individuals with seven or more unfavorable genotypes as well as high red meat intake had a nearly fivefold increased risk.

From the June 01, 2010 Issue of Renal and Urology News