Dietary acrylamide intake is not associated with gastrointestinal cancer risk

Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen that was detected in several heat-treated foods, such as French fries and crisps, in 2002. Prospective studies are needed on acrylamide and human cancer risk. We prospectively investigated the association between acrylamide and gastrointestinal cancer risk. In 1986, 120,852 men and women (aged 55-69 y) were included in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer. At baseline, a random subcohort of 5000 participants was selected for a case-cohort approach. Acrylamide intake was assessed with a FFQ at baseline and was based on acrylamide analyses in relevant Dutch foods. After 13.3 y of follow-up, 2190, 563, 349, and 216 cases of colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer, respectively, were available for analysis. The daily acrylamide intake of the subcohort was (mean +/- SD) 21.7 +/- 12.1 microg. A 10-microg/d increment of acrylamide intake was associated with multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard rate ratios (HR) (95% CI) of 1.00 (0.96-1.06), 1.02 (0.94-1.10), 1.06 (0.96-1.17), and 0.96 (0.85-1.09) for colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer, respectively. For former or never-smokers, the corresponding HR were: 1.03 (0.94-1.12), 1.09 (0.98-1.22), 1.07 (0.93-1.24), and 0.92 (0.76-1.11). There were some significantly increased risks within subgroups stratified by obesity, nonoccupational physical activity, and age, factors that were a priori selected based on their capacity to modify cytochrome P4502E1 activity. Overall, acrylamide intake was not associated with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer risk, but some subgroups deserve further attention.