Hi,
Eating processed meat causes cancer.
Eating processed meat increases the risk of getting cancer.
What's the difference between causes and increases the risk?
Walking across a busy highway increases the risk of an accident, but it may not cause an accident.
I'd understand your example to mean this. Scientists have not found a direct link between eating this meat and developing cancer. However, they have found statistically that a lot of people who eat it also get cancer.
The same can be said of smoking.
Best wishes, Clive