Eating burnt food increases the risk of developing cancer
The claim that eating burnt food increases cancer risk remains contested; while laboratory and some epidemiological studies link charred-food contaminants like acrylamide and heterocyclic amines to certain cancers, large prospective human cohorts and meta-analyses often find no consistent association.
The retrieved literature shows a clear division: experimental and certain epidemiological or cohort studies (e.g., [0], [6], [11]) suggest positive associations between burnt-food contaminants (acrylamide, heterocyclic amines) and specific cancers (such as breast and colon cancer). Conversely, major prospective cohort studies and critical reviews (e.g., [3], [9], [10]) find no significant or consistent association between dietary acrylamide and various common cancers. Because findings are mixed across different cancer sites and study designs, the balance verdict is CONTESTED.
Burhan Başaran, Burcu Çuvalcı, Güzin Kaban. Dietary Acrylamide Exposure and Cancer Risk: A Systematic Approach to Human Epidemiological Studies. 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12020346
The systematic review notes that some epidemiological studies indicate a positive relationship between dietary acrylamide exposure and cancer risk.
Loren Lipworth, Jennifer S Sonderman, Robert E Tarone, Joseph K McLaughlin. Review of epidemiologic studies of dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer.. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0b013e3283529b64
This critical review of epidemiological studies found no consistent or credible evidence that dietary acrylamide increases the risk of cancer in humans.
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Alice Bellicha, Gaëlle Wendeu-Foyet, Xavier Coumoul, Meriem Koual, Fabrice Pierre, Françoise Guéraud, Laurent Zelek, Charlotte Debras, Bernard Srour, Laury Sellem, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Chantal Julia, Pilar Galan, Serge Hercberg, Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy, Mathilde Touvier. Dietary exposure to acrylamide and breast cancer risk: results from the NutriNet-Santé cohort.. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac167
This large prospective cohort study suggests a positive association between dietary acrylamide and breast cancer risk, particularly in premenopausal women.
Drew S Helmus, Cheryl L Thompson, Svetlana Zelenskiy, Thomas C Tucker, Li Li. Red meat-derived heterocyclic amines increase risk of colon cancer: a population-based case-control study.. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2013.834945
The case-control study found that total dietary intake of meat-derived heterocyclic amines and mutagens was significantly associated with an increased risk of colon cancer.
Kathryn M Wilson, Edward Giovannucci, Meir J Stampfer, Lorelei A Mucci. Dietary acrylamide and risk of prostate cancer.. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.26383
This large prospective cohort study found no evidence that dietary acrylamide intake within typical human diets is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Rebecca E Graff, Eunyoung Cho, Mark A Preston, Alejandro Sanchez, Lorelei A Mucci, Kathryn M Wilson. Dietary Acrylamide Intake and Risk of Renal Cell Carcinoma in Two Large Prospective Cohorts.. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-18-0320
This study analyzing two large prospective cohorts concluded that dietary acrylamide was not associated with the risk of renal cell carcinoma.
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