Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Dietary acrylamide exposure was associated with increased cancer mortality in Chinese elderly men and women: a 11-year prospective study of Mr. and Ms. OS Hong Kong

  • Original Article – Clinical Oncology
  • Published:
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim

Our study aims to investigate the association between dietary acrylamide exposure and cancer mortality among Chinese elderly.

Methods

A prospective cohort of 4000 elderly men and women aged 65 years and above (Mr. and Ms. OS Hong Kong study) was recruited from local communities from 2001 to 2003. Dietary exposure to acrylamide was evaluated at baseline based on a validated food frequency questionnaire and an acrylamide database from the 1st Hong Kong Total Diet Study. Data on mortality statistics through March 2014 were obtained from the Death Registry of the Department of Health of Hong Kong with a median follow-up of 11.1 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between the acrylamide exposure and cancer mortality. Sex hormones were assessed in men.

Results

During a median follow-up of 11.1 years (39,271 person-years), we ascertained 330 cancer deaths. Vegetables (43.7%) and cereals (28.9%) products were the major contributors to dietary acrylamide. Compared with the lowest quartile of acrylamide intake (<9.9 µg/day), the multivariable hazard ratios for the highest quartile (>17.1 µg/day) were 1.9 (95% CI 1.3–2.8; P trend < 0.01), 1.9 (95% CI 1.0–3.6; P trend = 0.05), and 2.0 (95% CI 1.0–4.0; P trend = 0.06) for the cancer mortality from overall, digestive and respiratory system, respectively. The associations were attenuated to null after further adjustment for circulating free estradiol in men. No statistically significant interactions were observed between acrylamide exposure and sex, obesity and overall lifestyle pattern scores.

Conclusions

The longitudinal data provided evidence that dietary acrylamide, in amounts that Chinese elderly are typically exposed to, was associated with increased cancer mortality. Circulating free estradiol may mediate the association in men.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Besaratinia A, Pfeifer GP (2007) A review of mechanisms of acrylamide carcinogenicity. Carcinogenesis 28(3):519–528

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bongers ML, Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Goldbohm RA, Schouten HC, van den Brandt PA (2012) Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of lymphatic malignancies: the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer. PLoS One 7(6):e38016

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bull RJ, Robinson M, Stober JA (1984) Carcinogenic activity of acrylamide in the skin and lung of Swiss-ICR mice. Cancer Lett 24(2):209–212

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catalgol B, Ozhan G, Alpertunga B (2009) Acrylamide-induced oxidative stress in human erythrocytes. Hum Exp Toxicol 28(10):611–617

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (2011) The first Hong Kong Total Diet Study. Methodology 1–34

  • Dybing E, Farmer PB, Andersen M, Fennell TR, Lalljie SP, Müller DJ, Olin S, Petersen BJ, Schlatter J, Scholz G, Scimeca JA, Slimani N, Törnqvist M, Tuijtelaars S, Verger P (2005) Human exposure and internal dose assessments of acrylamide in food. Food Chem Toxicol 43(3):365–410

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkerd EJ, Dowsett M (2010) Influence of sex hormones on cancer progression. J Clin Oncol 28(26):4038–4044

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (2003) Chemistry, biochemistry, and safety of acrylamide. A review. J Agric Food Chem 51(16):4504–4526

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirvonen T, Kontto J, Jestoi M, Valsta L, Peltonen K, Pietinen P, Virtanen SM, Sinkko H, Kronberg-Kippila C, Albanes D, Virtamo J (2010) Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer among Finnish male smokers. Cancer Causes Control 21(12):2223–2229

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA (2007) A prospective study of dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 16(11):2304–2313

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA (2008a) Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of renal cell, bladder, and prostate cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 87(5):1428–1438

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA (2008b) Dietary acrylamide intake is not associated with gastrointestinal cancer risk. J Nutr 138(11):2229–2236

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA (2009) Lung cancer risk in relation to dietary acrylamide intake. J Natl Cancer Inst 101(9):651–662

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, Fortner RT, Mucci LA, Tworoger SS, Eliassen AH, Hankinson SE, Wilson KM (2013) Associations between dietary acrylamide intake and plasma sex hormone levels. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 22(11):2024–2036

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, de Bruijn-Geraets D, Schouten LJ, van Engeland M, de Kok TM, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA, Weijenberg MP (2014) Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of colorectal cancer with specific mutations in KRAS and APC. Carcinogenesis 35(5):1032–1038

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, van den Brandt PA, Godschalk RW, van Schooten FJ, Schouten LJ (2016) The influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms on the association between dietary acrylamide intake and endometrial cancer risk. Sci Rep 6:34902

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hogervorst JG, van den Brandt PA, Godschalk RW, van Schooten FJ, Schouten LJ (2017) Interactions between dietary acrylamide intake and genes for ovarian cancer risk. Eur J Epidemiol 32(5):431–441

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • JECFA (2005) Summary and conclusions of the sixty-fourth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), 1–47

  • Johnson KA, Gorzinski SJ, Bodner KM, Campbell RA, Wolf CH, Friedman MA, Mast RW (1986) Chronic toxicity and oncogenicity study on acrylamide incorporated in the drinking water of Fischer 344 rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 85(2):154–168

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall A, Folkerd EJ, Dowsett M (2007) Influences on circulating oestrogens in postmenopausal women: relationship with breast cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 103(2):99–109

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labrie F, Cusan L, Gomez JL, Martel C, Berube R, Belanger P, Belanger A, Vandenput L, Mellstrom D, Ohlsson C (2009) Comparable amounts of sex steroids are made outside the gonads in men and women: strong lesson for hormone therapy of prostate and breast cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 113(1–2):52–56

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson SC, Akesson A, Wolk A (2009) Dietary acrylamide intake and prostate cancer risk in a prospective cohort of Swedish men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 18(6):1939–1941

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lau EM, Leung PC, Kwok T, Woo J, Lynn H, Orwoll E, Cummings S, Cauley J (2006) The determinants of bone mineral density in Chinese men—results from Mr. Os (Hong Kong), the first cohort study on osteoporosis in Asian men. Osteoporos Int 17(2):297–303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lipunova N, Schouten LJ, van den Brandt PA, Hogervorst JG (2016) A prospective cohort study on dietary acrylamide intake and the risk for cutaneous malignant melanoma. Eur J Cancer Prev doi:10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000268

    Google Scholar 

  • Mottram DS, Wedzicha BL, Dodson AT (2002) Acrylamide is formed in the Maillard reaction. Nature 419(6906):448–449

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mucci LA, Adami HO, Wolk A (2006) Prospective study of dietary acrylamide and risk of colorectal cancer among women. Int J Cancer 118(1):169–173

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagata C, Konishi K, Tamura T, Wada K, Tsuji M, Hayashi M, Takeda N, Yasuda K (2015) Associations of acrylamide intake with circulating levels of sex hormones and prolactin in premenopausal Japanese women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 24(1):249–254

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olesen PT, Olsen A, Frandsen H, Frederiksen K, Overvad K, Tjonneland A (2008) Acrylamide exposure and incidence of breast cancer among postmenopausal women in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study. Int J Cancer 122(9):2094–2100

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen A, Christensen J, Outzen M, Olesen PT, Frandsen H, Overvad K, Halkjaer J (2012) Pre-diagnostic acrylamide exposure and survival after breast cancer among postmenopausal Danish women. Toxicology 296(1–3):67–72

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pelucchi C, La Vecchia C, Bosetti C, Boyle P, Boffetta P (2011) Exposure to acrylamide and human cancer—a review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. Ann Oncol 22(7):1487–1499

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pelucchi C, Bosetti C, Galeone C, La Vecchia C (2015) Dietary acrylamide and cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis. Int J Cancer 136(12):2912–2922

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shipp A, Lawrence G, Gentry R, McDonald T, Bartow H, Bounds J, Macdonald N, Clewell H, Allen B, Van Landingham C (2006) Acrylamide: review of toxicity data and dose-response analyses for cancer and noncancer effects. Crit Rev Toxicol 36(6–7):481–608

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sickles DW, Sperry AO, Testino A, Friedman M (2007) Acrylamide effects on kinesin-related proteins of the mitotic/meiotic spindle. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 222(1):111–121

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Södergard R, Bäckström T, Shanbhag V, Carstensen H (1982) Calculation of free and bound fractions of testosterone and estradiol-17β to human plasma proteins at body temperature. J Steroid Biochem 16(6):801–810

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stadler RH (2005) Acrylamide formation in different foods and potential strategies for reduction. Adv Exp Med Biol 561:157–169

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart BW, Wild CP (2014) World Cancer Report 2014

  • Wilson KM, Vesper HW, Tocco P, Sampson L, Rosén J, Hellenäs KE, Törnqvist M, Willett WC (2009) Validation of a food frequency questionnaire measurement of dietary acrylamide intake using hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and glycidamide. Cancer Causes Control 20(3):269–278

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Washburn RA, Smith KW, Jette AM, Janney CA (1993) The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE): development and evaluation. J Clin Epidemiol 46(2):153–162

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • WHO/FAO (2002) Health implications of acrylamide in food. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Consultation. WHO. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/42563/1/9241562188.pdf. Accessed 19 July 2017

  • Wilson KM, Mucci LA, Rosner BA, Willett WC (2010) A prospective study on dietary acrylamide intake and the risk for breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 19(10):2503–2515

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wirfalt E, Paulsson B, Tornqvist M, Axmon A, Hagmar L (2008) Associations between estimated acrylamide intakes, and hemoglobin AA adducts in a sample from the Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort. Eur J Clin Nutr 62(3):314–323

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wong WW, Chung SW, Lam CH, Ho YY, Xiao Y (2014) Dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to acrylamide: results of the first Hong Kong Total Diet Study. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 31(5):799–805

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woo J, Leung SSF, Ho SC, Lam TH, Janus ED (1997) A food frequency questionnaire for use in the Chinese population in Hong Kong: description and examination of validity. Nutr Res 17(11):1633–1641

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou PP, Zhao YF, Liu HL, Ma YJ, Li XW, Yang X, Wu YN (2013) Dietary exposure of the Chinese population to acrylamide. Biomed Environ Sci 26(6):421–429

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all participants for their participation and Dr. Edith Lau for her contribution in setting up the cohort.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Zhao-min Liu

  2. Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Lap Ah Tse, Suzanne C. Ho, Suyang Wu, Dicken Chan & Samuel Yeung-shan Wong

  3. Department of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Bailing Chen

Authors
  1. Zhao-min Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lap Ah Tse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Suzanne C. Ho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Suyang Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bailing Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Dicken Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Samuel Yeung-shan Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

ZML conceptualized the study, analyzed the data, interpreted the results, and drafted the manuscript. Suyang Wu helped in the calculation of dietary acrylamide exposure. All the coauthors critically commented on and revised the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhao-min Liu or Lap Ah Tse.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have competing interests to report.

Funding

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health R01 Grant AR049439–01A1 and the Research Grants Council Earmarked Grant CUHK4101/02 M. The funders played no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of the data, as well as in writing the manuscript.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 22 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Zm., Tse, L.A., Ho, S.C. et al. Dietary acrylamide exposure was associated with increased cancer mortality in Chinese elderly men and women: a 11-year prospective study of Mr. and Ms. OS Hong Kong. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 143, 2317–2326 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-017-2477-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-017-2477-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation