Processed Meats Linked to Bladder Cancer

Updated: August 3rd, 2010 | We Wanna Hear from You

We all know that bacon, hot dogs, bologna, and luncheon meat are not the best foods that we can eat. I know, I know, they can taste delicious. Wrap anything in bacon and it tastes good.  But now I’ll take the fun out of eating that hot dog.

A recent study reports that the intake of processed meat and its components is linked to increased risk for bladder cancer, according to the results of the large, prospective National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study reported online August 2 in Cancer. People with the highest levels of dietary nitrite had nearly a 30 percent increase in risk, the study shows.

Multiple potentially carcinogenic meat-related compounds related to cooking and processing, including nitrate, nitrite, heterocyclic amines (HCAs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could all be contributors to the increased rate of bladder cancer.

“Our findings highlight the importance of studying meat-related compounds to better understand the association between meat and cancer risk,” senior author Amanda J. Cross, PhD, also from the National Cancer Institute, said in a news release. “Comprehensive epidemiologic data on meat-related exposures and bladder cancer are lacking; our findings should be followed up in other prospective studies.”