Cancer
Acrylamide linked to increased risk of kidney cancer
By David Liu, Ph. D.
May 12, 2008 - 11:30:24 AM

MONDAY May 12, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Having high intake of dietary acrylamide, a carcinogen commonly found in processed starchy foods including French fries, cakes, snacks, coffee and even resins and plum juice, may dramatically increase the risk of kidney cancer, according to a new study.

The Dutch study published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found for daily intake of every 10 microgram of acrylamide, the risk of kidney cancer may increase by 10 percent.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer recognized acrylamide as a probable human carcinogen in 1004 while Swedish researchers in 2002 found this toxic chemical widely present in carbohydrate-rich foods processed at high temperature such as fries and potato chips.

Early studies have linked intake of dietary acrylamide with increased risk of breast cancer among others.

Janneke Hogervorst, an author of the study, from Maastricht University in the Netherlands was cited by Healthday News as saying that this study is the first to report a positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and kidney cancer.

For the study, Hogervorst and team looked at data from the Netherland Cohort Study on diet and cancer including more than 120,000 men and women aged 55 to 69.  Subjects were followed up for more than 13 years.  Dietary habits of 5000 people were surveyed.
 
The researchers found the average daily intake of dietary acrylamide was 21.8 micrograms, which could be obtained from a 2.5-ounce of French fries.  For most people, coffee was the major source of this toxic chemical.

Those who had daily intake of 40.8 micrograms of dietary acrylamide had a 59 percent increased risk of kidney cancer than those who had the lowest intake, the researchers found.