Bladder Cancer and Meat

Link between bladder cancer, processed red meat consumption appears to be weak, scientists concede.
The Los Angeles Times (8/7, Schiewe) "Booster Shots" blog reported that a newly released paper linking bladder cancer to the consumption of meat "wasn't quite as absolute as it was made to appear." Initially, investigators discovered an "apparent link" between the disease and "processed red meats that contain nitrates and nitrites," but after looking at "bladder cancer rates among those who ate the most processed meats...and those who ate the least," they "found no increased risk for bladder cancer, even though a lot of the processed meat must have been processed red meats -- the very same ones that made the red meat category look so risky. When asked about this discrepancy, lead author Amanda Cross of the NCI acknowledged that the link between bladder cancer and processed red meat consumption was weak."