A new study, reported in the journal Cancer, finds that eating red and white meat is associated with an increased risk of kidney cancer.

Researchers led by Xifeng Wu of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston studied the diet and genetic risk factors of 659 patients newly diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and 699 healthy controls.

However, the researchers cautioned that the study was small for an epidemiological project, limited to non-Hispanic whites, and needs replication.

And as with all such studies, the risk from eating certain foods cannot be considered in isolation. Risks must be compared to their benefits, along with the risks and benefits of substitute foods.

Previous studies linking meat consumption and cancer include one reported Oct. 26 by the World Health Organization said red and processed meats probably cause colorectal cancer.

And a study released last December found that red meat elevates the risk of cancer and other diseases because it contains an inflammation-causing chemical unnatural to human biology.

The new study found an increased risk of kidney cancer among those who ate more meat, and also with barbecuing and frying, which produce two carcinogens. They are: 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenyl-imidazo(4,5-b)pyridine, or PhIP; and 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo(4,5-f) quinoxaline, or MeIQx.

"In the current case-control study, we observed a nearly 2-fold increase in RCC risk associated with dietary MeIQx intake and a 54% increased risk associated with PhIP intake, suggesting that the intake of meat cooked at high temperatures may impact the risk of RCC through mechanisms related to mutagenic cooking compounds," the study stated.

Those with variants of two genes associated with kidney cancer had an even higher risk associated with consuming the carcinogens, the study stated. The genes are ITPR2 and EPAS1.

Kidney cancer is not very common, but in its advanced stages it is especially deadly.

The lifetime risk for developing kidney cancer is about 1.6 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. For comparison, the lifetime risk of developing melanoma is 2.1 percent, and colorectal cancer is 5 percent. In men, the lifetime risk of prostate cancer is 14 percent; for women, the lifetime risk of breast cancer is 8 percent.

The 5-year survival rate for kidney cancer varies widely by stage. Those with Stage 1 kidney cancer have an 81 percent 5-year survival rate, according to the cancer society. That rate drops with more advanced stages to an 8 percent survival rate for those with Stage 4 kidney cancer.