Acrylamide in food not linked to breast cancer

	Tweet

A potentially cancer-causing chemical found in some carbohydrate-rich foods appears to not raise the risk of breast cancer, the results of a large study suggest.

The chemical, acrylamide, gained notoriety several years ago when researchers discovered that the suspected human carcinogen is present in high levels in some popular snack foods, like potato chips, French fries and crackers. Other sources include teething biscuits, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, fast-food chicken nuggets, bottled prune juice and black olives.

Acrylamide appears to form when certain carbohydrate-rich foods are heated to high temperatures, through frying, baking or broiling. 

Whether people’s diets typically contain enough acrylamide to promote cancer remains debatable. A number of studies have found no link between people’s acrylamide intake and their risk of cancer, but some have detected a relationship. Specifically, a significant association between acrylamide and the risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer was detected by Danish researchers in 450 middle-age and older women.

In the latest study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the investigators found no connection between long-term acrylamide intake and the risk of breast cancer.

The findings suggest that acrylamide from foods does not promote breast cancer—at least within the range that women in this study consumed, report Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and her colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The study included 61,433 women born before 1949 who were cancer-free at the outset. At the start of the study and again 10 years later, the women completed dietary questionnaires that asked them how often they usually ate specific foods.

The researchers used that information to estimate the women’s overall acrylamide intake.

During the study period, 2,952 women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Those with the highest acrylamide intake were no more likely to develop the disease than women with the lowest intake, Larsson’s team found.

“These findings for Swedish women do not support the hypothesis that dietary acrylamide is positively associated with risk of breast cancer, at least not within the ranges of acrylamide consumed by this population,” the researchers conclude.

They note, however, that acrylamide intake was fairly low in the study group as a whole. So, it’s not clear whether the findings apply to other groups of women as well.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, February 1, 2009.

RELATED STORIES:
Virus kills breast cancer cells in laboratory   Cell of Origin Identified for Common Type of Breast Cancer   Breast cancer: A new treatment avenue identified   Study Examines Health Disparities in Breast Cancer   Acupuncture May Relieve Joint Pain Caused by Some Breast Cancer Treatments   Breast cancer tumor growth estimated through mammography screening data   Women advised to avoid ZEN bust-enhancing supplements because of possible cancer risk   Most women don’t regret preventive mastectomy   Screening mammograms catch second breast cancers early   Western diet ups S. Korea breast cancer rate   Breast cancer still diagnosed later in black women   Plant compound reduces breast cancer mortality   Hormone Sensitivity of Breast Stem Cells Presents Drug Target   Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women   Gene test helps select breast cancer chemotherapy   Nanotube Therapy Takes Aim at Breast Cancer Stem Cells   Watercress may ‘turn off’ breast cancer signal   Scientists identify overactive genes in aggressive breast cancers   Eating Meat Does Not Raise Breast Cancer Risk in Older Women   Even women with a family history can control breast cancer risk   IOM Report On Breast Cancer And The Environment   New Test May Predict Spread of Breast Cancer

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]