Eating a lot of well-cooked meat could increase the risk of developing kidney cancer, new medical research has discovered.
Experts have found kidney cancer patients consumed higher amounts of meat and processed foods than people who do not have the disease.
More harmful chemicals are produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame, according to the study led by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
It comes weeks after the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified red meat as a probable human carcinogen and reported that processed meat such as hot dogs, ham and sausages can cause bowel cancer.
The new research, published in the American Cancer Society journal, compared the diet of 659 patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer in adults, with that of 699 cancer-free people.
It also found that people with certain genetic variants are more susceptible to the harmful effects of the cancer-causing chemicals.
Dr Ian Johnson, of the Institute of Food Research, said: "Renal cell carcinoma occurs more frequently in higher income countries than in less developed parts of the world, and so it seems probable that it is caused in part by a Western lifestyle.
"Obesity is one risk factor, but some recent studies have also implicated high levels of meat consumption. This new report is consistent with that hypothesis.
"However, as with most cancers, it seems likely that an individual's risk of developing renal cell carcinoma is shaped by a combination of genetic and environmental factors."
He added that more research needs to be carried out and said the study had been conducted on a small scale.
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