Cancer
Acrylamide linked to increased risk of ovarian, womb cancer
By Ben Wasserman
Dec 3, 2007 - 9:50:55 PM

MONDAY DEC 3, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- A compound found in common processed foods such as fried, roasted, grilled and baked foods can double the risk of female reproductive cancer in women, according to a new Dutch study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

The chemical of concern is known as acrylamide, which is found rich in fried starchy foods such as fries and baked goods. The naturally occurring toxin was detected for the first time in a variety of carbohydrate-based foods in 2002.

Although acrylamide has been found carcinogenic in animals, the government does not believe that it would increase risk of any cancer.  The chemical is recognized as a probable human carcinogen.

In the study, researchers from the University of Maastricht in Maastricht, the Netherlands looked at data from 62,000 women and established a direct link between consumption of this chemical and incidence of ovarian and endometrial cancer.

The study showed women who had high intake of acrylamide were more than twice as likely to develop ovarian or endometrial cancer as those who ate a smaller amount.

But no association between intake of acrylamide and breast cancer risk was observed in the study.

Source:

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Nov;16(11):2304-13.Click here to read Links
A prospective study of dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer.
Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA.
Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, the Netherlands. JGF.Hogervorst@EPID.Unimaas.nl.