Study Concludes Dietary Acrylamide Not Linked to Lung Cancer

A recent study has reportedly found no positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and lung cancer, concluding that the chemical created by baking, frying and toasting foods at high temperatures may be “involved in human carcinogenesis through pathways other than genotoxicity.” Janneke G. F. Hogervorst, et al., “Lung Cancer Risk in Relation to Dietary Acrylamide Intake,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 28, 2009. Dutch researchers surveyed the dietary habits of 58,279 men and 62,573 women ages 55 through 69 who were enrolled in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. The results after 13 years suggested that men who consumed the most potato chips, French fries, Dutch spiced cake, coffee, bread, and cookies did not have a statistically different risk for lung cancer than those who reported eating the least amount of these foods. Moreover, women with the highest acrylamide intake had a decreased risk of lung cancer compared with their peers.

“We strongly encourage other research groups to examine the association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk among lung cancer, separately among men and women and stratified by smoking status and alcohol consumption,” stated the authors. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, April 29, 2009.