Acrylamide — a compound found in a variety of popular foods including French fries and coffee — does not seem to cause breast cancer.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Public School of Public Health in Boston looked at the possibility of a link between acrylamide and cancer in 100,000 women in the United States. Results show it is unlikely the compound is related to the risk of breast cancer at the levels most people have in their diets, but the study does not rule out and increased risk for people with very high levels of acrylamide in their diets.
The highest levels of acrylamide are in fried and baked products, like potato chips and other snack foods. It is classified as a probable human carcinogen because of data from animal studies. But there is no consensus on its risks to humans.
Food safety authorities in Europe have taken steps to curb acrylamide, and there is controversy over whether the United States should take similar action.
Previous research from Sweden also suggested there is no association between dietary acrylamide and cancer risk. Researchers report among women in the United States, the largest source of the compound in the diet was French fries. In Swedish women, it was coffee.
“The story of dietary acrylamide and cancer risk in humans is still emerging, and additional epidemiological studies examining other cancers and in additional populations are warranted, including biomarker assessment of acrylamide exposure,” lead author Lorelei Mucci, Sc.D., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Public School of Public Health, was quoted as saying.
Mucci does not rule out the possibility that dietary acrylamide can cause other health problems. She and her associates are currently looking at a group of 3,000 men in Sweden to explore a possible link between the compound and the risk of prostate cancer.
SOURCE: 234th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Aug. 19 to Aug. 23, 2007
